IJBRARY 


\ 


•v^O- 


THE  BIRDS  OF 


BERKSHIRE  COUNTY, 


MASSACHUSETTS 


BY  WALTER  FAXON  AND  RALPH  HOFFMANN 


THE  BIRDS  OF 

BERKSHIRE    COUNTY, 

MASSACHUSETTS. 


By  WALTER  FAXON 


AND 


RALPH   HOFFMANN. 


IIBRARV 


THE  BIRDS  OF  BERKSHIRE  COUNTY. 


Berkshire  is  the  westernmost  county  of  Massachusetts  and 
extends  across  the  state,  from  Connecticut  on  the  south  to 
Vermont  on  the  north.  Its  western  border  is  formed  by  the 
JSTew  York  line,  and  on  the  east  it  is  bordered  by  the  counties 
of  Franklin,  Hampden  and  Hampshire.  Its  length  from  north 
to  south  is  about  fifty  miles ;  its  width,  though  fairly  constant, 
varies  from  twenty- four  to  fourteen  miles.  The  extremes  of 
latitude  are  42°  2'  N.  and  42°  44'  JS".,  and  it  is  comprised  be- 
tween the  meridians  73°  W.  and  73°  30'  W. 

With  the  exception  of  Worcester  and  Barnstable  counties, 
none  of  the  political  divisions  of  the  mainland  of  Massachusetts 
possess  such  a  marked  topographical  individuality  as  Berk- 
shire county.  "  The  Berkshires  "  constitute  a  well-defined  re- 
gion— one  which,  from  its  natural  beauty,  is  constantly  becom- 
ing more  widely  known  and  loved,  and  it  is  partly  on  account 
of  this  ever  increasing  popular  interest  in  the  region,  that  the 
authors  have  felt  justified  in  presenting  in  this  paper  their 
knowledge  of  the  avifauna  of  Berkshire. 

Two  ranges  of  hills,  running  north  and  south,  and  separated 
by  valleys  of  varying  width,  constitute  the  most  marked  feature 
of  the  topography  of  Berkshire.  Along  the  western,  or  New 
York,  border,  run  the  Taconics,  a  series  of  more  or  less  isolated 
hills,  through  which  comparatively  deep  side  valleys  have  been 
worn.  This  range  includes  Berlin  Mountain  (2804  feet)  on  the 
north,  Potter  Mountain  (2410  feet),  Perry's  Peak  (2077  feet), 
and  the  great  mass  of  Mount  Everett,  better  known  in  Berk- 
shire as  the  Dome  (2624  feet),  which  occupies  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  county.  The  eastern  half  of  the  county,  as  well 
as  the  western  part  of  the  adjoining  counties  to  the  eastward, 
is  occupied  by  a  broad  mass  of  rugged  upland,  including  a 
comparatively  broad  watershed,  with  a  steep  western  and  a  long 
eastern  slope.  This  rugged  mass  forms  the  greater  part  of  the 
"Berkshire  Hills,"  so  called.  On  its  summit  lie  the  "hill 


M188177 


towns,"  and  it  is  here  (and  in  one  other  circumscribed  region) 
that  the  naturalist  finds  the  most  characteristic,  and  therefore 
the  most  interesting,  part  of  the  field.  The  general  altitude  of 
the  upland,  to  which,  for  convenience,  the  name  Hoosac  Plateau 
may  be  given,  falls  from  about  2000  feet  in  the  northern 
towns,  Florida,  Savoy  and  Windsor,  to  about  1500  feet  in  the 
southwestern  towns,  Sandisfield  and  New  Marlboro.  The 
peaks  rise  above  the  general  level  to  the  height  of  2400  feet 
and  once  to  2840  feet  in  the  north,  and  to  1700  or  1800  feet 
in  the  south. 

This  plateau,  however,  yields  in  interest,  even  to  the  natural- 
ist, to  the  noble  mountain  mass  that  rises  in  the  northern  end 
of  the  county,  between  the  Taconics  and  the  Hoosacs.  No 
mountain  in  Massachusetts  equals  Saddle  Mountain  in  altitude, 
beauty  or  interest.  Its  highest  peak,  Mount  Greylock,  rises 
3505  feet  above  the  sea,  and  2700  feet  above  the  valley  directly 
below  it.  Its  more  inaccessible  slopes  are  clothed  with  the 
few  remaining  patches  of  primeval  forest  in  the  state,  and, 
since  much  of  this  forest  is  spruce,  the  list  of  birds  found  on 
the  mountain  includes  many  which,  until  recently,  were  not 
known  to  breed  in  any  other  part  of  the  state. 

A  few  words  concerning  the  streams  which  drain  the 
county.  For  three-quarters  of  its  length,  Berkshire  is  drained 
by  the  Housatonic  and  its  tributaries.  This  river  draws  its 
source  partly  from  two  lakes  which  fill  part  of  the  comparatively 
broad  valley  about  Pittsfield,  and  partly  from  streams  flowing 
down  the  steep  western  slope  of  the  Hoosac  Plateau.  Except 
for  a  few  miles  in  the  town  of  Stockbridge,  the  Housatonic 
flows  south,  and  through  the  lower  part  of  its  course  it  is 
bordered  by  wide  alluvial  meadows,  which,  with  the  river's 
fringe  of  tall  willows,  constitute  one  of  the  chief  charms  of  this 
part  of  Berkshire,  their  peaceful  aspect  serving  as  a  foil  to  the 
rugged  nature  of  the  hills.  The  northern  end  of  the  county  is 
drained  by  a  much  smaller  stream,  the  Hoosac,  a  tributary  of 
the  Hudson — little  more  in  reality  than  a  mill  brook.  Its 
valley  is  narrow,  its  course  swift ;  only  at  the  edge  of  the 
county — in  Williamstown — does  it  flow  more  gently  through 
comparatively  broad,  flat  meadows.  The  eastern  edge  of  the 


county — in  other  words,  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Hoosacs — is 
drained  by  the  upper  waters  of  certain  tributaries  of  the  Con- 
necticut River.  Thus,  in  the  extreme  south-eastern  part  of  the 
county,  the  Farmington  River  forms,  for  a  few  miles,  the 
boundary  of  Sandisfield,  and  near  the  north-eastern  corner,  the 
Deerfield  skirts  the  eastern  side  of  the  township  of  Florida, 
while  the  intermediate  eastern  border- towns  are  drained  by 
branches  of  the  Westfield  River. 

The  largest  lakes  of  Berkshire  are  the  two  alluded  to  above 
— Onota  and  Pontoosuc,  with  and  area  of  683  and  575  acres  re- 
spectively— and  Great  Pond  in  Otis.  The  first  two  are  in  the 
highway  of  migration  and  are  visited  annually  or  irregularly 
by  many  water  birds.  The  other  bodies  of  water  are  chiefly 
mountain  ponds — either  natural  glacial  lakes,  or  artificial  reser- 
voirs formed  by  damming  the  brooks.  The  southern* half  of 
the  Hoosac  Plateau  abounds  in  these  small  bodies  of  water. 
The  upper  part  of  the  Hoosac  River  has  also  been  dammed 
and  a  long  pond,  known  as  the  Cheshire  Reservoir,  has  been 
thus  formed. 

The  absence  from  any  region  of  extensive  flats,  marshes,  or 
swamps  has  a  marked  effect  on  the  bird  population  of  that 
region.  The  reeds  at  the  heads  of  some  of  the  lakes,  and  a 
few  small  swamps  on  the  upland,  have  been  the  only  spots  in 
which  the  few  rails,  gallinules,  bitterns  and  ducks  in  the  fol- 
lowing list  have  been  found  in  the  breeding-season. 

There  is,  as  is  well  known,  an  intimate  connection  between 
the  vegetation  of  a  region  and  its  insect  and  avine  fauna.  The 
presence  in  any  hill  town  of  a  thick  spruce  wood  or  a  fir  swamp 
is  an  unfailing  index  to  the  ornithologist.  In  the  former, 
Black-and-Yellow  Warblers  and  Golden-crowned  Kinglets  will 
be  found  ;  in  the  latter,  White-throated  Sparrows.  It  is  the 
presence  of  this  spruce  and  fir  that  marks  the  limits  of  what  is 
known  to  ornithologists  as  the  Canadian  faunal  region.  The 
well  drained  slopes  of  the  Taconics,  and  the  valley  of  the 
Housatonic,  offer  no  congenial  home  to  the  above-named  birds. 
It  follows  that  the  Canadian  birds  are  restricted  in  Berkshire 
to  the  Hoosac  Plateau  and  to  Saddle  Mountain,  occurring  in 
scattered  colonies  from  Becket  northward,  and  in  a  continuous 


6 

belt  over  the  greater  part  of  Saddle  Mountain.  On  the  slopes 
of  the  Taconics  and  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Hoosacs,  there 
are  tall  forests  of  deciduous  trees,  oaks,  chestnuts,  maples,  and 
birches,  with  an  admixture  of  hemlocks.  In  the  valley,  too, 
there  are  scattered  groves  of  similar  trees,  and  large  patches  of 
young  or  old  white  pine.  In  the  town  of  Sheffield,  the  flora 
has  a  more  southern  aspect ;  a  few  savins  (Juniperus  virgin- 
iana)  occur,  gray  birch  (Betula  populifolia)  covers  the  dry 
plains,  and  in  the  open  fields  beard  grass  (Andropogon)  and 
bush-clover  (Lespedezd)  abound.  A  noticeable  feature  of  the 
Berkshire  flora,  however,  even  in  these  dry  fields,  is  the 
absence  of  pitch  pine  (JPinus  rigida),  which  nowhere  occurs  in 
the  groves  so  characteristic  of  Eastern  Massachusetts. 

The  undergrowth  and  shrubbery  of  a  region  often  exert  as 
important  an  influence  on  life  as  the  trees.  On  the  slopes  in 
the  Housatonic  basin,  mountain  laurel  (Kalmia  latifolia]  covers 
acres  of  mountain-side,  while  on  the  ill-drained  Hoosac  Plateau 
the  roads  are  bordered  for  miles  by  tall  willows  (Salix  discolor, 
8.  rostrata,  etc.).  In  the  laurel  tracts,  the  characteristic  song 
of  the  Black-throated  Blue  Warbler  is  continually  repeated, 
while  in  the  bushy  willows  the  emphatic  qneequee  of  the 
Alder  Flycatcher  is  a  characteristic  sound. 

The  Housatonic  Valley  continues  from  Southern  Berkshire 
through  Western  Connecticut  to  Long  Island  Sound,  reaching 
in  its  lower  course  a  region  in  which  there  is  a  strong  admix- 
ture of  so-called  Carolinian  birds — birds,  that  is,  which  are 
common  from  Southern  Connecticut  southward,  and  but  rarely 
found  outside  this  region.  The  Southern  Water-Thrush  and 
the  Orchard  Oriole  are  two  Carolinian  birds.  Since  there  is  no 
barrier  between  the  region  where  these  birds  abound  and 
Southern  Berkshire — the  Housatonic  Valley  in  fact  affording 
an  easy  passage  northward — their  presence  in  small  numbers  in 
the  county  was  to  be  expected.  In  fact,  the  Southern  Water- 
Thrush  has  been  found  breeding  in  Sheffield,  and  the  Orchard 
Oriole  occurs  regularly,  though  sparingly,  in  the  valley  as  far 
north  as  Lanesboro. 

Altitude  has  as  marked  an  influence  on  the  flora  and  fauna 
as  latitude.  It  is  this  fact  that  gives  Grey  lock  its  great  interest 


in  the  eyes  of  naturalists.  Rising  as  it  does  far  above  the  sur- 
rounding country,  it  has  the  character  of  an  island  of  northern 
vegetation — a  bit  of  the  Green  Mountain  thrust  to  the  south- 
ward, just  as  the  low,  sterile  plains  of  the  southern  Berkshire 
towns  present  the  characteristics  of  Connecticut  fields  pushed 
northward.  Greylock  is  clothed  to  the  very  summit  with  fairly 
tall  trees,  so  that  it  lacks  the  Alpine  aspect  of  extremely  lofty 
mountain  tops.  Nevertheless,  there  has  been  found  on  the  top 
of  Greylock,  on  several  occasions,  a  bird  whose  normal  habitat 
is  the  edge  of  the  tree  line  of  the  loftier  northern  mountains. 
This  bird  is  the  Bicknell's  Thrush,  found  on  Slide  Mountain  in 
the  Catskills,  and  some  of  the  higher  peaks  of  the  Adirondack's, 
the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont,  and  the  White  Mountains 
of  New  Hampshire — but  nowhere  else,  as  far  as  is  known,  in 
Massachusetts.  Besides  this  interesting  bird,  a  number  of  Cana- 
dian birds  which  occur  only  sparingly  elsewhere  in  the  county, 
are  either  common  or  abundant  on  Greylock.  Such  are  the 
Winter  Wren,  Olive-sided  Flycatcher,  Mourning  Warbler,  and 
Brown  Creeper. 

Besides  Bicknell's  Thrush  and  the  Southern  Water-Thrush — 
species  found  only  in  these  isolated  spots  at  the  two  extremes 
of  the  county — a  third  bird  has  been  found  in  Berkshire  which 
as  far  as  is  now  known,  breeds  nowhere  else  in  the  state.  In 
two  limestone  cliffs  in  North  Adams,  two  pairs  of  Rough- 
winged  Swallows  have  reared  their  young,  probably  for  an  in- 
definite number  of  years.  This  swallow  is  a  characteristic  Car- 
olinian bird,  found  from  southwestern  Connecticut  southward. 
Its  breeding  so  far  north  as  northern  Berkshire  seems  to  depend 
upon  the  presence  of  the  limestone  cliffs. 

.  Geographically  considered,  Berkshire  County  belongs  more 
properly  to  New  York  and  Vermont  than  to  Massachusetts. 
This  is  shown  in  the  flora  by  the  presence  of  necklace  poplar 
(Populus  monilifera)  along  the  streams,  and  the  rich  spring 
flora  including  Dicentra^  Hydropliyllum,  Viola  canadensis, 
etc.,  in  the  woods.  The  presence  of  several  western  birds  is  in 
keeping  with  this  feature  of  the  flora.  The  Red-headed  Wood- 
pecker occurs  here  and  there,  the  Migrant  Shrike  has  been 
found  nesting  in  Williamstown,  and  the  Prairie  Horned  Lark 
breeds  regularly  in  several  of  the  northern  towns. 


It  remains  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  manner  in 
which  this  list  has  been  prepared,  ^either  of  the  authors,  un- 
fortunately, is  a  resident  of  the  county.  The  information  which 
they  have  obtained  concerning  the  birds  is  the  result  of  several 
summers'  study  in  various  parts  of  the  county,  particularly  at 
North  Adams  and  Stockbridge,  and  of  visits  made  to  the  same 
places  in  winter.  Repeated  visits  have  also  been  made  in  the 
spring  and  autumn,  especially  to  Lanesboro,  where  the  broad 
valley  serving  as  a  highway  for  migrating  birds,  offers  excep- 
tional facilities  for  the  observation  of  transients.  It  is  clear  to 
any  one  conversant  with  the  problems  of  the  distribution  of  birds, 
that  nothing  short  of  long  residence,  winter  and  summer,  in  a 
region,  justifies  an  observer  in  speaking  with  any  degree  of 
positiveness  of  its  avine  inhabitants.  JSTo  one  can  feel  more 
keenly  than  the  authors  of  this  list  the  scantiness  of  the  material 
they  have  to  offer.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  larger  spring 
and  autumn  migrants,  the  water  fowl,  and  of  the  winter  strag- 
glers, the  northern  hawks  and  owls,  The  authors  have  of 
course  supplemented  their  personal  knowledge  with  whatever 
trustworthy  information  they  could  obtain  from  others.  They 
are  particularly  indebted  to  Mr.  E.  T.  Fisher,  for  the  use  of 
his  notes  made  in  Lanesboro. 

The  bibliography  at  the  end  of  the  paper  will  show  the  pub- 
lished sources  of  information  available  for  the  purposes  of  this 
list. 

If  a  bird's  occurrence  in  the  county  is  positively  affirmed, 
and  no  authority  is  given,  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  the  authors 
themselves  have  found  the  bird  in  the  county.  In  other  cases 
the  name  of  the  observer  follows  the  record. 

The  authors  have  not  attempted  to  give  any  account  of  the 
life  of  the  birds  listed,  unless  such  information  applies  particu- 
larly to  Berkshire  County.  It  has  not  seemed  desirable  to  re- 
peat here  facts  already  available  in  a  number  of  manuals  of 
ornithology.  Occasionally,  however,  the  authors  have  inserted 
some  items  of  general  import  which  have  not  found  their  way 
into  the  manuals. 

Meagre  as  the  results  may  be,  the  authors  feel  that  the  fairly 
complete  list  of  summer  residents  justifies  publication,  and  they 


venture  to  hope  that  some  resident  of  the  county  may  be 
stimulated  to  make  careful  and  continuous  observations  over 
an  extended  period. 

1.     SIALTA  SIALIS  (Linn?). 

BLUEBIRD. 

The  Bluebird  is  a  fairly  common  summer  resident  in  Berk- 
shire, generally  distributed  throughout  the  county,  though  no- 
where abundant.  It  arrives  during  the  first  half  of  March 
(March  10-19,  Williamstown,  Dr.  Emmons),  and  departs  for 
the  south  in  October,  a  few  lingering  through  the  early  days  of 
November  (November  2,  1891,  North  Adams). 

The  Berkshire  Bluebirds,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  their 
kind,  suffered  Jamentably  from  the  effects  of  the  winter  of 
1894—95  in  the  south.  Their  recovery,  however,  was  quick ; 
by  the  third  summer  (1897)  they  had,  to  all  appearances,  re- 
gained their  normal  numbers. 

2.     MERULA  MIGRATORIA  (Linn.). 

AMERICAN    ROBIN. 

Abundant  summer  resident,  arriving  March  8  ('Forest  and 
Stream,'  X.  1878,  297)  to  March  20  (Dewey).  Departs  in  No- 
vember. Although  not  so  often  seen  in  winter  as  it  is  near  the 
sea-board  of  Massachusetts,  the  presence  of  the  Robin  in 
sheltered  places  in  Berkshire  in  February  and  even  in  January 
is  attested  by  both  Dewey  and  Etnmons. 

3.     HYLOCICHLA  MUSTELINA  (Gmel.). 

WOOD    THRUSH. 

Fairly  common  summer  resident,  mostly  found  at  the  lower 
levels,  and  even  there  unequally  distributed.  One  found  breed- 
ing at  so  high  a  level  as  2400  feet  (Grey lock  mountain).  Ar- 
rives from  the  south  about  May  10.  (See  below,  under  Hermit 
Thrush). 

4.     HYLOCICHLA  GUTTATA  PALLASII  (Cab.). 

HERMIT  THRUSH. 

Prior  to  the  winter  of  1894-95,  the  Hermit  Thrush  was  a 
common  summer  resident  at  a  level  of  800  feet  above  the  sea 


10 

and  upward  to  about  2900  feet  on  the  higher  mountains.  The 
destruction  of  this  species  in  its  winter  quarters  during  the 
storms  of  January  and  February,  1895,  must  have  been  appal- 
ling, for  since  that  time  it  has  become  a  comparatively  scarce 
bird  on  its  former  breeding-grounds.  Up  to  this  time  (1899) 
there  appear  no  signs  of  its  regaining  its  normal  status.  Some 
curious  local  changes  in  the  bird  distribution,  consequent  upon 
the  decimation  of  the  Hermit  Thrushes,  were  noted  by  us.  The 
Wood  Thrushes  of  the  Grey  lock  Notch,  previously  found  in 
any  numbers  only  in  the  deciduous  woods  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  Notch  as  high,  say  as  1000  or  1200  feet,  in  the  summer  of 
1895  invaded  the  higher  levels,  supplanting  the  Hermits  in  the 
spruce  pastures  up  to  an  altitude  of  1800  feet.*  This 
would  seem  to  show  that  competition  is  a  factor  concerned  in 
the  distribution  of  closely  allied  species  on  mountain  sides,  as 
well  as  temperature,  vegetation,  etc.  It  will  be  interesting  to 
observe  whether  the  Hermits  recover  their  territory  at.  some 
future  day. 

The  Hermit  Thrushes  arrive  in  Berkshire  early  in  April 
(April  6,  Stockbridge) ;  the  most  of  them  depart  by  the  first 
week  of  November. 

5.     HYLOCICHLA  TJSTULATA  SWAINSONII  (Cab.}. 

OLIVE-BACKED    THRUSH. 

Not  uncommon  summer  resident  on  the  Greylock  range, 
from  2800  feet  up  to  the  summit,  3505  feet ;  met  with  sparing- 
ly  on  this  range  in  summer  in  certain  dark  ravines  as  low  as 
900  feet.  It  also  breeds  commonly  on  the  Hoosac  Plateau 
in  the  townships  of  Florida,  Savoy,  Windsor,  and  Peru  (alti- 
tude 1800-2000  feet).  In  the  low  country  of  Berkshire  it  is 
known  only  as  a  spring  and  autumn  migrant.  Our  earliest 
date  for  the  spring  arrival  in  Berkshire  is  May  3,  1899  (Lanes- 
boro),  bat  it  does  not  reach  us  in  any  numbers  before  the  12th 
or  15th  of  May.  From  that  time  it  may  be  found  in  deep 

*See  F.  H.  Allen,  in  St.  Johnsbury  Caledonian,  September  11, 1896,  who 
noticed  a  similar  increase  of  Wood  Thrushes  at  the  expense  of  Hermit 
Thrushes  at  Willoughby  Lake,  Vermont,  during  the  summer  of  1896. 


11 

woods,  often  practising  its  pensive  ditty  in  subdued  undertones, 
till  toward  the  first  of  June,  when  it  retires  to  the  spruce  for- 
ests of  the  mountains,  or  the  regions  further  north. 

6.     HYLOCICHLA  ALICLE  Baird. 

GRAY-CHEEKED    THRUSH. 

Kare  transient  visitant,  latter  half  of  May  and  September. 

6a.     HYLOCICHLA  ALICIJE  BICKNELLI  Ridgw. 
BICKNELL'S  THRUSH. 

This  bird  is  a  very  rare  summer  resident  near  the  summit  of 
Greylock  Mountain  (altitude  3505  feet).  On  the  6th  day  of 
July,  1888,  the  senior  author  of  this  paper  shot  a  male  there 
as  recorded  in  the  "Auk,"  YI.  1888,  106.  [Brewster,  2d  ed. 
Minot's  Land  Birds  and  Game  Birds  of  New  England,  1895, 
p.  466].  This  bird  had  been  observed  singing  on  the  same 
spot  for  four  days  before  it  was  shot,  and  on  dissection  the 
condition  of  its  organs  clearly  indicated  a  breeding  bird.  An- 
other male  was  found  near  the  same  place,  in  full  song,  on  the 
29th  and  30th  of  July,  1895  (Faxon,  Auk,  XII.  1895,  392). 
Yet  again,  a  pair  was  found  (the  male  in  full  song)  near  the 
top  of  the  mountain  on  the  18th  and  19th  of  June,  1896. 

7.     HYLOCICHLA  FUSCESCENS  (Steph.). 

VEERY. 

The  Yeery,  or  Wilson's  Thrush,  is  the  most  abundant  of  the 
Hylocichlse  in  Berkshire  County,  being  generally  distributed 
in  summer  both  in  the  low  country  and  in  suitable  locations  at 
hi^h  levels  where  the  ground  is  damp  and  affords  a  bushy 
undergrowth.  On  one  occasion  we  detected  a  pair  of  Yeeries 
in  the  breeding-season  nearly  up  to  the  summit  of  Greylock, 
where  the  song  of  the  male  formed  part  of  a  trio  with  the 
Olive-backed  and  Bicknell's  Thrushes. 

Arrives  May  3  to  10,  but  does  not  sing  freely  till  the  middle 
of  May.  Withdraws  to  the  south  early  in  September ;  seen 
once  in  Stockbridge  as  late  as  the  17th  of  that  month. 


12 
8.     EEGULUS  CALENDULA  (Linn.). 

RUBY-CROWNED    KINGLET. 

Eather  common  transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn. 
Arrives  in  April  and  lingers  into  May  (13th,  North  Adams)  • 
again  in  the  autumn  from  the  23d  of  September  through  Octo- 
ber, on  its  southward  journey. 

9.     EEGULUS  SATEAPA  Licht. 

GOLDEN-CROWNED    KINGLET. 

Not  uncommon  permanent  resident  in  the  spruce  forest  of 
Saddle  Mountain  and  the  Hoosac  Plateau  from  Becket  north- 
ward. Earely  found  elsewhere  except  as  a  winter  visitant,  in- 
vading the  ralley  country  as  early  as  the  llth  of  September. 
There  is  a  pair  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  J.  M.  Stevenson  of 
Pittsfield,  labelled,  "Great  Barrington,  July,  1886,  Mr. 
Sclmrr." 

10.     PAKUS  IIUDSONICUS  Forst. 

HUDSONIAN    CHICKADEE. 

Eare  winter  visitant.  Greylock  Mountain,  December,  1889 
(Faxon,  Auk,  VII.  1890,  408). 

11.     PARUS  ATRICAPILLUS  Linn. 

CHICKADEE. 

Permanent  resident.     Common. 

12.     SITTA  CANADENSIS  Linn. 

RED-BELLIED    NUTHATCH. 

Not  uncommon  permanent  resident  in  the  spruce  belt  of 
Saddle  Mountain  and  of  the  Hoosacs  (Florida,  Savoy,  Hins- 
dale),  varying  in  numbers  different  years.  We  have  also  found 
one  in  summer  in  the  Ice  Glen,  Stockbridge.  In  the  low 
country  at  large  this  species  is  known  only  as  a  spring  and 
autumn  migrant  or  winter  visitant. 

13.     SITTA  CAROLINENSIS  Lath. 

WHITE-BELLIED    NUTHATCH. 

Permanent  resident.     Not  uncommon. 


13 

14.     CERTHIA  FAMILIARIS   AMERICANA  (Bonct/p.}. 

AMERICAN    BROWN    CREEPER. 

Breeds  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  coniferous  forest  on 
Greylock  Mountain.  We  have  also  found  it  on  one  occasion 
in  the  township  of  Savoy  in  summer  (July  3,  1899,  altitude, 
2000  feet).  In  most  parts  of  the  county  it  is  only  a  winter 
visitant,  arriving  from  the  north  about  the  23d  of  September. 

}  5.       ClSTOTHORUS    PALUSTRIS    (  WUs.). 
LONG-BILLED    MARSH    WREN. 

Yery  rare  summer  resident.  July  17,  1897,  the  junior  author 
heard  one  or  two  singing  in  the  marsh  at  the  upper  end  of 
Pontoosuc  Lake,  Lanesboro.  There  were  none  there  in  1898 
and  1899. 

16.  ClSTOTHORUS    STELLARIS    (Licflt.). 
SHORT-BILLED    MARSH    WREN. 

The  Short-billed  Marsh  Wren  is  a  summer  resident  in  Berk- 
shire county  of  local  distribution.  We  have  observed  it  in 
Stockbridge,  Lenox,  and  Lanesboro,  and  it  is  included  in  Chad- 
bourne's  list  of  the  birds  of  Williamstown  (1858).  Arrives 
May  14  (Lanesboro).  Have  seen  it  as  late  as  the  2d^of  October 
(Lanesboro). 

17.  ANORTHURA  HIEMALIS  (VieilL). 

WINTER    WREN. 

Chiefly  a  spring  and  autumn  migrant,  though  many  breed  on 
Greylock  Mountain,  and  we  have  detected  a  few  in  summer  in 
Great  Barrington,  Stockbridge,  Lanesboro,  Becket,  and  Wash- 
ington, where  they  presumably  breed  in  cool,  shady  swamps. 
On  Greylock  the  Winter  Wren  breeds  at  an  elevation  of  2000 
feet  and  upwards.  We  have  noted  the  spring  arrival  of  the 
Winter  Wren  as  early  as  April  llth  (Pittsfield)  ;  it  lingers  on 
Mt.  Greylock  so  late  as  October  26,  but  we  have  no  winter 
record  for  the  county.  It  is  a  very  rare  winter  bird  even  on 
the  sea-board  of  Massachusetts.  The  autumnal  passage  of  mi- 
grants sets  in  by  September  15. 


U 

18.     TROGLODYTES  AEDON    Vieill. 

HOUSE    WEEN. 

A  fairly  common  summer  resident  in  some  parts  of  the 
county,  although  nowhere  abundant.  More  common  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county  (Sheffield,  etc.)  than  in  the  north- 
ern and  hill  towns.  Generally  found  near  farm-houses,  though 
a  few  breed  in  wild  forest  sprout-land,  in  the  dead  stubs,  re- 
mote from  houses.  Arrives  about  the  1st  of  May.  Seen  up 
to  September  24. 

19.     HARPORRHYNCHTJS  ETJFUS  (Linn.). 

BROWN    THRASHER. 

Summer  resident,  not  very  rare,  yet  not  nearly  so  common 
as  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state. 

20.     GALEOSCOPTES  CAEOLINENSIS  (Linn.). 

CATBIRD. 

Common  summer  resident,  except  in  the  more  heavily 
forested  districts.  Arrives  May  1  (1899,  Lanesboro),  May  6-8 
(1831-33,  Williamstown,  Emmons).  Departs  in  early  October. 

21.     MIMUS  POLYGLOTTOS  (Linn.). 

MOCKINGBIRD. 

Very  rare,  perhaps  accidental,  summer  visitant.  Mr.  R.  T. 
Fisher  tells  of  one  that  he  used  often  to  visit  in  order  to  enjoy 
its  song,  near  the  Cheshire  Reservoir,  through  July,  1896. 
This  is  the  only  definite  record  we  have. 

22.     ANTHUS  PENNSILVANICUS  (Lath). 

AMERICAN    PIPIT. 

Transient  visitor  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  more  common 
in  autumn  than  in  the  spring.  Our  only  spring  records  are 
May  4,  9,  1899  (Lanesboro).  Autumnal  migration  begins 
September  22. 

23.     HELMINTHOPHILA  EUBRICAPILLA  (  Wils.). 

NASHVILLE    WARBLER. 

Abundant  migrant  and  common  summer  resident,  more  com- 
mon at  high  levels  than  in  the  low  country.  Arrives  about 
May  1,  departs  toward  the  end  of  September. 


15 

24.     HELMINTHOPHILA  PEREGRINA  (Wils.). 

TENNESSEE    WARBLER. 

Rare  spring  migrant,  May  13—24;  found  in  apple  orchards 
and  also  along  water  courses  (Lanesboro,  North  Adams).  Prob- 
ably many  more  pass  through  Berkshire  than  through  the 
eastern  counties  of  Massachusetts.  Although  one  was  dis- 
covered on  Mt.  Greylock  on  the  15th  of  July  (see  "Auk,"  VI. 
1889,  102),  there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  its  breeding  in 
the  county  or  state.  Doubtless  passes  through  the  county  on 
its  way  south  in  the  fall,  although  as  yet  we  have  no  autumn 
record. 

25.     MNIOTILTA  VARIA  (Linn.). 

BLACK    AND    WHITE    WARBLER. 

Not  uncommon  summer  resident.  Earer  in  the  more  ele- 
vated parts  of  the  county.  Seen  as  late  as  September  27. 


26.       COMPSOTHLYPIS    AMERICANA    TJSNE^E 

NORTHERN    BLUE    YELLOW-BACKED    WARBLER. 

Summer  resident,  not  common,  and  local,  its  distribution 
controlled  by  the  .growth  of  Usnea.  Rare  on  Greylock  but 
often  met  with  elsewhere  in  small  numbers  in  elevated,  swampy 
regions.  Arrives  May  3  (1899,  Lanesboro). 

27.     DENDRCECA  ^ESTIVA  (Gmel.). 

YELLOW    WARBLER. 

Summer  resident.  In  Berkshire  County  this  bird  is  almost 
exclusively  found  in  the  low  country  which  has  been  brought 
under  cultivation.  In  such  places  it  is  a  common  tenant  of  the 
willowed  banks  of  streams  and  ponds.  Arrives  about  the  first 
of  May.  Departs  about  the  eighteenth  of  August. 

28.     DENDRCECA  PENNSILVANICA  (Linn.). 

CHESTNUT-SIDED    WARBLER. 

Abundant  summer  resident,  May  2-September  19. 


16 

29.     DENDECECA  BLACKBUENI^E  (GmeL). 

BLACKBUENIAN    WAKBLEE. 

The  Blackburnian  Warbler  is  an  abundant  summer  resident 
of  the  spruce  forest  of  Mt.  Greylock,  and  is  also  fairly  common 
in  the  breeding  season  in  the  townships  of  the  Hoosac  Plateau, 
from  Becket  northward.  In  the  low  country  it  is  chiefly  met 
with  during  the  migration  periods,  although  it  breeds  dis- 
persedly  throughout  the  county,  in  hemlock  and  white  pine 
woods,  even  to  the  southern  border  (Sheffield).  This  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  warblers  reaches  Berkshire  County  from  the 
south  early  in  May  (May  2,  1899,  Lanesboro).  We  have  seen 
it  as  late  as  September  25. 

\ 

30.     DENDECECA  VIEENS  (GmeL). 

BLACK-THEOATED    GEEEN    WAEBLEE. 

Common  summer  resident  of  the  spruce  and  pine  tracts. 
Extremely  abundant  on  Greylock ;  together  with  the  Black- 
burnian, it  is  the  most  numerous  warbler  in  the  spruce  region 
of  the  mountain.  Observed  at  North  Adams  as  late  as  Octo- 
ber 19. 

31.  DENDECECA  MACULOSA  (GmeL). 

BLACK    AND    YELLOW    WAEBLEE. 

Common  summer  resident  in  spruce  regions  from  Becket 
northward.  Perfers  somewhat  open  pasture-lands,  growing  up 
to  spruce.  Arrives  early  in  May  (May  5,  1899,  Lanesboro),  de- 
parts in  September.  Latest  seen,  October  1  (Lanesboro). 

32.  DENDECECA  COEONATA  (Linn.). 

TELLOW-EUMPED    WAEBLEE. 

Extremely  abundant  during  the  vernal  and  autumnal  migra- 
tions (April,  May,  September  and  October),  a  few  remaining 
through  the  summer  to  breed.  The  breeders  for  the  most  part 
seek  the  spruce  forest  of  Mt.  Greylock  and  the  Hoosac  Plateau, 
though  we  are  disposed  to  think  from  our  observations  that  a 
few  breed  even  in  the  valley  towns  (Pittsfield,  Stock  bridge),  in 
white  pine  groves.  Prodigious  numbers  of  Yellow-rumps 


17 

passed  through  Berkshire  in  the  spring  of  1899.  The  wave 
was  at  its  height  from  the  3d  to  the  12th  of  May,  ebbing  slow- 
ly to  its  subsidence  on  the  24th.  Most  of  the  females  passed 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  month,  when  on  certain  days  they 
preponderated  heavily  over  the  males. 

The  autumnal  passage  ends  about  November  1. 

33.     DENDR<ECA  PALMARUM  (Gmel.). 

RED-POLL   WARBLER. 

Rare  transient  visitant  in  September  and  October.  Septem- 
ber 20,  1892  (Stockbridge),  September  23-25,  1899  (Lanes- 
boro),  September  29,  1898  (Lanesboro),  October  1,  1898  (Lanes- 
boro), October  2,  1898  (Lanesboro),  October  22,  1891  (North 
Adams).  The  last  is  an  exceptionally  late  date  for  this  bird. 
The  specimen  was  shot  and  is  now  in  Mr.  William  Brewster's 
collection. 

33$.     DENDRCECA  PALMARUM  HYPOCHRYSEA  Ridgw. 

YELLOW    RED-POLL    WARBLER. 

Common  spring  and  autumn  transient.  Comes  in  April  ;  by 
the  first  week  of  May  most  of  them  have  passed  on  to  the 
north,  although  we  have  seen  a  single  one  as  late  as  the  14th 
of  that  month  (Stockbridge).  The  autumnal  passage  occurs 
from  September  29  to  October  22. 

34.     DENDRCECA  CASTANEA  (  Wils.). 

BAY-BREASTED   WARBLER. 

Rare  spring  and  autumn  migrant.  May  13-22,  September 
7-17  (Lanesboro,  Dalton). 


35.       DENDROSCA    STRIATA 

BLACK-POLL   WARBLER. 

Common  transient  visitant,  May  17  to  June  7,  September 
7  to  October  23.  We  once  found  a  loiterer  in  Lenox  on  June 
14.  Dr.  Brewer  says  that  the  Black-poll  Warbler  "  has  been 
seen  in  North  Adams  in  August,  with  young  so  immature  that 
they  must  have  been  of  local  origin"  (Bull.  Nuttall  Orn.  Club, 


18 

III.  1878,  139).     We  have  been  unable  to  find  it  in  the  breed- 
ing season,  even  on  Greylock. 

36.     DENDROZCA  VIGORSII  (Aud.). 

PINE    WARBLER. 

Yery  rare  summer  resident.  North  Adams,  May  22,  1889, 
one  female  shot,  with  eggs  nearly  ready  to  lay  (Auk.  XII.  1895, 
89);  Stockbridge,  July  7,  1895,  one  male;  Lenox,  July,  1898, 
several  males  together ;  all  of  these  in  white  pine  groves.  The 
Pine  Warbler  appears  in  Chadbourne's  list  of  Williarnstown 
birds,  1858,  on  the  authority  of  A.  Hopkins. 

37.     DENDRCECA  OERULESCENS  (GmeL). 

BLACK-THROATED    BLUE    WARBLER. 

Common  summer  resident  on  the  Taconic,  Greylock -and 
Hoosac  ranges.  Found  more  rarely  in  summer  in  favorable 
localities  in  the  low  country.  Yery  abundant  on  the  Taconic 
Mountains  near  the  southern  border  of  the  county,  in  mixed 
deciduous  woods,  with  dense  undergrowth  of  mountain  laurel 
(Kalmia  latifolia).  Arrives  May  5  (Lanesboro). 

38.     DENDRCECA  TIGRINA  (Gmel.). 

CAPE   MAY    WARBLER. 

Rare  spring  (and  presumably  autumn)  transient  visitant. 
May  2,  May  7,  May  14  (female),  (Lanesboro).  No  autumn 
record. 

39.     SITJRUS  AUROCAPILLUS  (Linn.). 

OVEN-BIRD. 

Common  summer  resident ;  arrives  May  6  (Williamstown, 
Emmons)  to  May  10;  last  seen,  September  27. 

40.     SIURUS  MOTACILLA  (  Vieill.). 

SOUTHERN    WATER-THRUSH. 

Yery  rare  summer  resident.  The  sole  record  is  Sheffield, 
June  11,  1896,  a  pair  feeding  fledged  young  (Faxon,  Auk, 
XIII.  1896,  344). 


19 

A  Water-Thrush  was  observed  in  the  township  of  Washington  on  the 
28th  of  June,  1899,  but  we  are  uncertain  whether  it  was  the  northern  or 
southern  species. 

41.     SIURUS  NOVEBORACENSIS  (Gmel.). 

NORTHERN    WATER-THRUSH. 

Common  transient  visitant,  May  1-June  2,  and  August- 
September.  Although  one  individual  was  seen  in  Sheffield  as 
late  as  the  17th  of  June  (Faxon,  Auk,  VI.  1889,  46)  there  is 
no  evidence  of  its  breeding  in  the  county. 

» 
42.     GEOTHLYPIS  TRIOHAS  (Linn.]. 

MARYLAND    YELLOW-THROAT. 

Common  summer  resident,  not  only  in  the  valleys,  but  in  the 
deforested  wet  grounds  of  the  highlands,  as,  for  instance,  on 
the  Hoosac  Plateau.  Arrives  May  7  (Lanesboro). 

43.     GEOTHLYPIS  PHILADELPHIA  (  Wils.). 

MOURNING    WARBLER. 

Summer  resident  of  very  restricted  range,  breeding  in  con- 
siderable numbers  in  the  sprout-lands  of  the  Greylock  Moun- 
tain system.  Outside  of  this  range  we  have  found  the  Mourn- 
ing Warbler  in  the  breeding-season  in  but  two  localities,  and 
those  not  far  off,  viz.  on  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Hoosac  River  in  North  Adams,  and,  in  the  same  direction  but 
much  higher  up,  on  the  Hoosac  Plateau  near  the  boundary 
separating  North  Adams  from  Florida.  In  each  of  these 
places  only  one  or  two  pairs  were  detected. 

The  breeding  birds  reach  Mount  Greylock  by  the  14th  of 
May.  Transient  birds  are  not  often  seen,  but  these  probably 
arrive  at  a  later  date.  In  Eastern  Massachusetts,  where  the 
Mourning  Warbler  is  known  only  as  a  migrant  on  its  way  to 
and  from  more  northern  breeding-grounds,  the  vernal  passage 
falls  between  May  21  and  June  6,  oftenest  after  May  26.  We 
therefore  incline  to  think  that  the  individuals  rarely  seen  in 
Berkshire  to  the  south  of  Greylock  during  the  last  week  of 
May  (e.  g.  Lanesboro,  May  27,  1899)  are  birds  bred  to  the 
north  of  Massachusetts  rather  than  members  of  the  Greylock 
colony. 


20 
44.     GEOTHLYPIS  AGILIS  (  Wils.). 

CONNECTICUT    WARBLER. 

Very  rare  transient  in  the  autumn.     Lanesboro,  September 
21,  24  ;  Sheffield,  September  26  ;  North  Adams,  September  28. 


45.     ICTERIA  VIRENS 

YELLOW-BREASTED  CHAT. 

A  not  rare  summer  resident  in  the  Housatonic  valley  at 
Sheffield.  We  have  found  it  also  in  a  few  localities  in  Stock- 
bridge  and  Lenox.  To  the  north  of  this  we  have  not  met  with 
it  until  North  Adams  is  reached,  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
county.  Here,  on  the  verge  of  the  Hoosac  valley,  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  the  Greylock  mountain  range,  there  is  established  a 
little  colony  of  Chats,  about  four  pairs  breeding  within  at  area 
two  miles  square.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1896,  we  discovered 
a  pair  settled  in  Pownal,  a  southern  border  town  of  Vermont. 
These  were  probably  an  overflow  from  the  Greylock  colony. 

46.  SETOPHAGA  RUTICILLA  (Linn.). 

AMERICAN    REDSTART. 

Common  summer  resident,  but  not  so  abundant  as  in  the 
eastern  counties  of  Massachusetts.  Rarer  at  high  levels  than 
in  the  low  country.  Arrives  from  the  south  May  3  (1899, 
Lanesboro).  Seen  as  late  as  September  26. 

47.  WILSONIA  CANADENSIS  (Linn.). 

CANADIAN    WARBLER. 

Common  summer  resident  of  the  higher  parts  of  the  county, 
and  also  found  in  shady  swamps  in  the  valley  regions.  May 
ll-Septembe*r  26. 

48.     WILSONIA  PUSILLA  (  Wils.). 

WILSON'S  WARBLER. 

Fairly  common  transient  visitant  in  the  well  watered  valley 
country,  May  6-28,  September  8-27  (Lanesboro).  Fond  of 
willows  along  the  borders  of  ponds  arid  rivers. 

The  Hooded  Warbler,  Wilsonia  mitrata  (Gmel.),  should  be  looked  for, 
especially  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  in  the  mountain  laurel  tracts 


21 

Mr.  J.  B.  Grimes,  a  trustworthy  observer,  in  our  estimation,  .assures  us 
that  he  used  to  find  this  bird  in  the  breeding-season  in  a  certain  place  near 
Pittsfield,  a  good  many  years  ago.  The  locality  is  now  built  up. 

49.     YIREO  NOVEBORACENSIS  (Gmel.\ 

WHITE-EYED    VIREO. 

Very  rare  summer  resident.  Sheffield,  June,  1888,  and 
June  10,  1896.  One  pair  on  each  occasion. 

It  is  included  in  Chadbourne's  Williamstown  list  published 
in  1858. 

50.  YIREO  SOLITARIUS  (  Wils.). 

SOLITARY    VIREO. 

Not  uncommon  summer  resident.  Much  reduced  in  num- 
bers since  the  winter  of  1894-95,  when  myriads  must  have 
perished  in  the  south. 

51.  YIREO  FLAVIFRONS    Vieill. 

YELLOW-THROATED    VIREO. 

Summer  resident,  not  common,  but  widely  dispersed  through 
the  valley  towns.  Generally  met  with  in  the  shade-trees  along 
village  streets.  We  have  found  a  few  in  such  situations  in  the 
following  towns :  Sheffield,  Stockbridge,  Lenox,  Pittsfield, 
Lanesboro,  North  Adams,  and  Williamstown. 

52.     YIREO  GILVUS  (  Vieill.). 

WARBLING    VIREO. 

Locally  common  summer  resident.  Almost  exclusively 
found  in  the  shade-trees  by  the  roadsides,  especially  in  the  vil- 
lages. Arrives  May  2,  departs  September  18  (Lanesboro). 

53.     YIREO  OLIVACEUS  (Linn.). 

RED-EYED    VIREO. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Arrives  May  10.  Seen  as 
late  as  October  1. 


22 
54.     LANIUS  LTJDOVICIANUS  MIGRANS  Palmer. 

MIGRANT    SHRIKE. 

The  only  records  for  this  bird  are  the  following  by  S.  G. 
Tenney,  in  Amer.  Nat.,  XXI.  1887,  90  :  Nest  found  in  Wil- 
liamstown,  May  10,  1883,  with  six  eggs ;  another  a  few  days 
later,  one-quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  first  one,  with 
two  eggs  (apparently  deserted) ;  third  nest  found  in  the  spring 
of  1886,  within  150  feet  of  the  first  nest.  [Auk,  VI.  1889, 
180;  Brewster's  ed.  Minot's  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of 
N.  E.,  1875,  p.  470 ;  Palmer,  Auk,  XV.  1898,  249.] 

Mr.  Tenney  writes  us  that  these  nests  were  built  at  a  height 
of  six  to  eight  feet  above  the  ground,  two  of  them  in  thorn- 
apple  trees  (Cratcegus),  one  in  an  elm.  They  were  lined  with 
sheep's  wool. 

55.     LANIUS  BOREALIS    Vieill. 

NORTHERN    SHRIKE. 

Winter  visitant,  not  common.  Have  seen  it  at  North 
Adams  as  early  as  October  17. 

56.     AMPELTS  CEDRORUM  (  Vieill.). 

CEDAR    WAXWING. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Arrives  May  22  (1889,  North 
Adams),  May  24  (1899,  Lanesboro).  Roving  flocks  are  some- 
times met  with  in  late  winter  or  early  spring,  but  these  birds 
do  not  remain  through  to  the  breeding  season  (Emmons,  Amer. 
Journal  Sci.,  XXVI.  1834,  208.) 

57.     AMPELIS  GARRULUS  Linn. 

BOHEMIAN  WAXWING. 

One  specimen,  a  male,  shot  in  Williamstown  village,  is  now 
in  the  Williams  College  museum  (No.  103)  in  Jackson  Hall. 
(Chadbourne,  Williams  Quarterly,  V.  1858,  345;  Brewster, 
Auk,  I.  1884,  10.) 


23 
58.     PROGNE  SUMS  (Linn.). 

PURPLE    MARTIN. 

Not  common  summer  resident,  breeding  in  small  numbers  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  county,  at  North  Adams,  etc. 


59.       HlRUNDO    ERYTHROGASTRA 
BARN    SWALLOW. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Most  numerous  of  the  Hirun- 
dinidtie.  Arrives  about  April  19  (Williamstown,  Emmous). 
By  September  7  they  are  gone. 

60.     TACHYCINETA  BICOLOR  (  Vieill). 

WHITE  BELLIED    SWALLOW. 

Abundant  transient  visitant  ;  not  very  common  summer 
resident,  breeding  in  North  Adams,  Cheshire,  Lanesboro,  Pitts- 
field,  Biicket,  Sheffield.  Yast  numbers  collect  at  the  head  of 
Pontoosuc  Lake  during  the  vernal  migration,  where  we  have 
seen  them  take  their  departure  for  the  north  as  late  as  the  22d 
of  May.  After  sitting  toward  the  close  of  day  upon  the  low 
bushes  that  protrude  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  at  half  past 
seven  o'clock,  myriads  at  once  soared  into  the  air,  parting  to 
form  two  flocks,  one  of  which  took  a  course  due  north,  while 
the  second  struck  off  to  the  W.  N.  W. 

61.     PETROCHELIDON  LUNIFRONS  (Say). 

EAVE    SWALLOW. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Next  to  the  Barn  Swallow  the 
most  numerous  of  the  family.  According  to  Professor  Eminons 
this  bird  first  appeared  in  Williamstown  in  the  year  1825.  Ar- 
rives about  April  29  (Williamstown,  Emmons),  departs  at  the 
end  of  August. 

62.     CLIVICOLA  RIPARIA  (Linn.). 

SAND    SWALLOW. 

Fairly  common  summer  resident,  though  of  necessity  more 
or  less  local  in  its  distribution. 


24 
63.     STELGIDOPTERYX  SERRIPEXNIS  (And.). 

ROUGH-WINGED    SWALLOW. 

Very  rare  summer  resident.  We  know  of  but  two  pairs, 
breeding  in  two  limestone  cliffs  in  North  Adams  (Faxon,  'Auk,' 
XII.  1895,  392).  This  is  the  only  place  in  the  state  where  this 
swallow  is  known  to  breed.  It  is  somewhat  strange  that  the 
nearest  known  breeding  station  to  the  southward  is  the  extreme 
south-western  corner  of  Connecticut.  The  young  quit  the  nest 
during  the  first  week  in  July. 

61.  .    PlRANGA    ERYTIIROMELAS      Vieill. 
SCARLET    TANAGER. 

Common  summer  resident,  May  10-September  23.  Very 
common  in  the  region  about  Grey  lock  Mountain. 

t)5.       CoCCOTIIRAUSTES    YESPERTINUS    (OoOJ}.). 
EVENING    GROSBEAK. 

This  western  bird  appeared  in  Berkshire  County  in  consider- 
able numbers  in  the  winter  of  1889-90,  during  that  wonderful 
eastward  migration  which  reached  even  the  Atlantic  coast.* 

WQ  were  not  so  fortunate  as  to  be  in  Berkshire  County  durinw 

./  ft 

the  incursion,  but  we  received  trustworthy  reports  of  its  pres- 
ence in  Williamstown,  Adams,  Lanesboro,  Lenox,  and  Sheffield. 
Mr.  W.  A.  Jeffries  of  Boston  has  a  specimen  killed  in  Lenox, 
March  25,  1890.  Mr.  Koland  F.  Smith  of  Sheffield  has  one 
that  he  secured  out  of  a  flock  in  Sheffield  daring  the  same  winter. 

06.     PJNICOLA  ENUCLEATOR  CANADENSIS  (Cab.). 

CANADIAN    PINE    GROSBEAK. 

Irregular  winter  visitant. 


*See  A.  W.  Butler,  'Auk,'  ix.  1892,  238-247,  x.  1892,  155-157,  aud 
William  Brewster  in  Minot's  '  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of  New  Eng- 
land/ 2d  Ed.,  1895,  pp.  470,  471. 


25 
67.     CARPODACUS  PURPUREUS  (Gmel.). 

PURPLE    FINCH. 

Common  summer  resident ;  rare  in  winter  (teste  Mr.  R.  T. 
Fisher). 

68.  PASSER  DOMESTICUS  (Linn). 

HOUSE    SPARROW. 

Permanent  resident,  abundant  in  the  larger  cities  and  towns, 
not  uncommon  in  farming  country  of  the  lowlands,  but  not 
encroaching  upon  the  higher  regions  of  the  county.  Even  at 
North  Adams,  where  a  populous  city  abuts  abruptly  upon  the 
slope  of  Greylock,  the  House  Sparrows  do  not  ascend  above  a 
a  level  of  1080  feet,  the  city  lying  at  a  level  of  680  feet.  They 
appear  not  yet  to  have  invaded  the  Hoosac  Plateau.  The 
House  Sparrow  is  as  yet  the  only  foreign  bird  that  has  taken 
an  assured  place  in  the  fauna  of  the  county. 

69.  LOXIA  LEUCOPTERA  (Gmel.). 

WHITE-WINGED    CROSSBILL. 

Irregular  winter  visitant.  Greylock  Mountain,  December 
15,  17,  1889  ;  October  22,  25,  1891.  Abundant  in  Northern 
Berkshire  during  the  winter  of  1899-1900. 

70.     LOXIA  CURVIROSTRA  MINOR  (Brehm). 

AMERICAN    CROSSBILL. 

Found  at  all  seasons,  but  very  irregular  in  its  occurrence, 
especially  in  summer.  In  the  year  1895  the  Crossbills  were 
abundant  throughout  the  summer  in  the  region  about  Greylock 
Mountain. 

71.     ACANTHIS  LINARIA  (Linn.). 

REDPOLL. 

Irregular  winter  visitant. 

72.     ASTRAGALINUS  TRISTIS  (Linn.). 

AMERICAN    GOLDFINCH. 

Abundant  summer  resident.     Hare  in  winter. 


26 

73.     SPINUS  PINUS  ( 11%.). 
PINE  SISKIN. 

Irregular  winter  visitant;  arrives  September  24.  On  Grey- 
lock  Mountain  it  is  frequently  seen  in  the  summer.  Probably 
breeds  among  the  higher  mountains. 

74.     PLECTROPHENAX  NIYALIS  (Linn.}. 

SNOW    BUNTING. 

Irregular  winter  visitant,  not  abundant.  November-March. 
Have  taken  it  on  the  summit  of  Greylock,  November  1,  and 
on  the  mud-flats  of  Pontoosuc  Lake,  Lanesboro. 

75.     POCECETES  GRAMINEUS  (GmeL). 

BAY-WINGED    SPARROW. 

Common  summer  resident.  Arrives  April  8  (Stockbridge)? 
seen  up  to  October  23  (North  Adams).  The  Bay-wings  were 
quite  scarce  in  Berkshire  in  the  summer  of  1899.  They  must 
have  perished  in  great  numbers  daring  the  preceding  winter. 

76.     PASSERCULUS  SANDWICHENSIS  SAVANNA  ( Wils.). 

SAVANNAH    SPARROWT. 

Common  summer  resident  usually,  though  scarce  in  the 
summer  of  1899,  like  the  preceding  species. 

77.     AMMODRAMUS  SAVANNARUM  PASSERINUS  (  Wils.}. 

GRASSHOPPER-  SPARROW. 

Summer  resident,  of  local  distribution.  We  have  found  a 
good  many  in  Sheffield,  and  scattered  colonies  in  Great  Bar. 
ington,  Stockbriclge,  Lenox,  Pittsfield,  and  North  Adams. 


27 
78.     AMMODRAMUS  IIENSLOWII  (A.ud.). 

HENSLOW'S    SPAKROW. 

Summer  resident,  locally  distributed  through  the  county. 
We  have  observed  it  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  towns  of 
Sheffield,  Tyringharn,  Otis,  Stockbridge,  and  Lanesboro,  and 
Mr.  William  Brewster  has  recorded  it  from  Adams  ('Auk,'  I. 
1884,  7).  It  arrived  at  Lanesboro  in  1899  on  the  13th  day  of 
May. 

79.       ZONOTRICHIA    LEUCOPHRYS    (FoTSt.). 
WHITE-CROWNED    SPARROW. 

Common  transient  visitant  in  the  valley  country,  May  8-25, 
September  23-October  — .  Found  mostly  along  road-sides  and 
bushy  fence-lines,  whence  its  dreamy  song  often  greets  the 
passer-by  during  the  May  migration. 

80.     ZONOTRICHIA  ALBICOLLIS  (GmeL). 

WHITE-THROATED    SPARROW. 

The  White-throated  Sparrow  breeds  in  considerable  numbers 
on  the  Greylock  Mountain  range  and  on  the  Hoosac  Plateau 
from  Becket  northward.  In  the  low,  valley  country  of  Berk- 
shire it  is  rare  in  summer  (Stockbridge,  Lanesboro)  but  abund- 
ant in  the  spring  and  fall,  during  the  seasons  of  migration. 

81.     SPIZELLA  MONTICOLA  (Gmel.). 

TREE    SPARROW. 

Common  migrant  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  Not  common 
in  winter.  Arrives  from  the  north  October  23  (North  Adams). 

82.  SPIZELLA  PUSILLA  (  Wils.). 

FIELD    SPARROW. 

Common  summer  resident. 

83.  SPIZELLA  SOCIALIS  (  Wils.). 

CHIPPING    SPARROW. 

Abundant  summer  resident. 


28 
Si.     JUNCO  iiiEMALis  (Linn.). 

SNOWBIRD. 

Abundant  transient  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  and  a  fairly 
common  summer  resident  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  the 
county, -breeding  on  the  mountains  even  to  the  southern  border 
(Mount  Everett).  According  to  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  it  is  some- 
times found  in  winter. 

85.     MELOSPIZA  GEORGIANA  (Lath.). 

SWAMP    SPARROW. 

Rather  common  summer  resident,  found  both  in  the  high 
and  low  country,  but  locally  distributed  on  account  of  its  love 
for  marshy  districts. 

86.  MELOSPIZA  LIXCOLNII  (And.). 

LINCOLN'S  SPARROW. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  more  numerous 
in  the  autumn,'  when  it  is  a  fairly  common  bird  in  the  Housa- 
tonic  Valley  (Lanesboro,  Pittsfield,  Sheffield).  We  have  seen 
as  many  as  ten  in  a  single  day  (October  1,  1898,  Lanesboro). 
It  is  seen  in  May  (14th-17th)  and  in  the  autumn  from  Septem- 
ber 19  through  early  October.  Found  oftenest,  though  by  no 
means  exclusively,  near  swampy  or  marshy  land. 

Near  Boston,  where  observations  cover  a  long  series  of  years, 
spring  dates  for  Lincoln's  Sparrow  cover  the  interval  from  May 
7  to  June  1,  autumn  records  extending  from  September  12  to 
October  10 ;  once  we  saw  a  single  individual  in  Belmont  on 
the  first  day  of  November. 

87.  MELOSPIZA  MELODIA  (  Wils.). 

SONG    SPARROW. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  informs  us 
that  a  few  Song  Sparrows  may  be  found  in  winter  at  the 
Cheshire  Reservoir.  A  record  for  spring  arrival  at  North 
Adams,  viz.  March  10,  1878,  is  given  in  '  Forest  and  Stream,' 
X.  1878,  297. 


88.     PASSERELLA  ILIAC  A  (Merr.). 

FOX-COLORED    SPARROW. 

Common  transient  visitant,  March-April,  October-Novem 
ber.  Arrives  from  the  north  in  autumn,  October  21  (North 
Adams). 

89.     PIPILO  ERYTHROPHTHALMUS  (Linn.). 

TOWHKE. 

Summer  resident,  not  rare,  though  not  nearly  so  common  as 
in  the  eastern  counties  of  Massachusetts,  and  more  local  in  its 
distribution.  We  have  found  it  lingering  on  Mount  Greylock 
in  the  autumn  as  late  as  October  22. 

The  Cardinal  Grosbeak,  Cardinalis  cardinalis  (Linn.),  is  entered  with  a 
query  in  the  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Williamstown  (Williams  Quarterly, 
1858,  p.  358).  We  know  of  no  positive  record  for  the  county.  For  Hamp- 
den  and  Hampshire  County  records,  see  Allen,  Amer.  Nat.,  in.  1870,  635. 

90.     ZAMELODIA  LUDOVICIANA  (Linn.). 

ROSE-BREASTED    GROSBEAK. 

Fairly  common  summer  resident.  Arrives  about  the  10th 
of  May.  We  have  seen  it  in  the  autumn  up  to  October  2} 
though  most  of  them  leave  early  in  September. 

91.     PASSERINA  CYANEA  (Linn.). 

INDIGO    BIRD. 

Abundant  summer  resident.  Arrives  May  10-14.  Departs 
early  in  October. 

92.     SPIZA  AMERICANA  (Gmel.). 

BLACK-THROATED    BUNTING. 

Found  breeding  in  Williamstown  some  time  prior  to  1858, 
by  Mr.  Archibald  Hopkins,  who  sent  the  eggs  to  Dr.  T.  M. 
Brewer  (Williams  Quarterly,  1858,  p.  357 ;  Baird,  Brewer  and 
Kidgway,  Hist.  N.  A.  Birds,  Land  Birds,  II.  1874,  67;  Stearns 
and  Coues,  New  England  Bird-Life,  Part  I.  1881,  p.  280)- 
Wo  have  no  reason  to  think  tli.it  the  Black-throated  Bnntino- 


30 

now  exists  in  Berkshire  county.  As  is  well  known,  this  bird 
long  ago  abandoned  its  former  breeding  grounds  in  the  eastern 
states. 

93.     DOLICHONYX  ORYZIVORUS  (Linn.). 

BOBOLINK. 

Very  common  summer  resident.  Arrives  May  1  (1899, 
Lanesboro) — May  12  (1889,  North  Adams).  Ceases  from  song 
about  July  10.  Last  seen  September  12. 

94.       MOLOTIIRUS    ATER    (Bodd.). 
COWBIKD. 

Fairly  common  summer  resident,  but  not  so  common  as  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  state. 

95.     AGELJEUS  PIKENICEUS  (Linn.). 

RED-WINGED    BLACKBIRD. 

Common  summer  resident.  Arrived  in  Williamstown  March 
23,  1831,  March  21,  1832,  March  20,  1833.  Appeared  in 
February,  1830. — Emmons.  We  have  seen  transient  flocks  at 
Pontoosuc  Lake  as  late  as  Nov.  11,  but  the  native  birds  abandon 
their  breeding-grounds  as  early  as  August. 

96.     STURNELLA  MAGNA  (Linn.). 

ME  A  DOW- LARK. 

Common  summer  resident  of  the  low  country.  Arrived  at 
Williamstown  March  13,  1831,  March  12,  1832,  March  13, 
1833. — Emmons.  Observed  at  North  Adams  as  late  as  Octo- 
ber 23. 

97.     ICTERUS  SPURIUS  (Linn.). 

ORCHARD    ORIOLE. 

Not  uncommon  summer  resident  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Housatonic  Yalley  at  Sheffield,  and  breeding  northward 
in  small  numbers  as  far  as  the  upper  end  of  Pontoosuc  Lake, 
in  Lanesboro.  Arrives  May  12  (1899,  Lanesboro.) 


31 

98.     ICTERUS  GALBULA  (Linn.). 

BALTIMORE    ORIOLE. 

Common  summer  resident  in  the  low  country.  Arrives  May 
7  (1899,  Lanesboro)  to  May  12  (1831,  Williamstown,  Eminons). 
Departs  about  the  last  of  August. 

99.   SCOLECOPHAGUS  CAROLINUS  (Jfull.). 
RUSTY  GRACKLE. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn, — abundant  in 
the  autumn. 

100*     QUISCALUS  QUISCULA  ^ENEus  (Ridgw^]. 

BRONZED  GRACKLE. 

Common  summer  resident. 

101.       CORVUS  AMERICAN  US    Aud. 
AMERICAN    CROW. 

Common  permanent  resident,  but  not  so  abundant  in  winter 
as  in  summer. 

102.     CORVUS  CORAX  (Linn.). 

RAVEN. 

There  are  two  Kavens,  killed  in  Williamstown,  in  the 
museum  of  Williams  College.  One  of  these  is  No.  358,  "Wil- 
liamstown, Don.  F.  B.  Cole,  1877."  The  other  is  merely 
labelled  u  Williamstown,  Mass/',  without  catalogue  number. 
It  is  the  first  of  these,  probably,  that  was  recorded  by  Tenney 
in  the  American  Naturalist, Vol.  XI.  April,  1877,  p.  243  [Allen, 
Bull.  K  O.  C.,  II.  1877,  74,  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  I. 
1886,  249;  Stearns  and  Coues,  N.  E.  Bird-Life,  Part  I.  1881,  p. 
313 ;  Faxon,  Auk.  YI.  1889,  100]  as  obtained  in  Williamstown 
"  some  time  since."  Both  specimens  were  noticed  by  Mr. 
William  Brewster  in  the  'Auk,'  Yol.  I.  1884,  p.  10,  where  1877 
is  inadvertently  given  as  the  date  of  capture  of  one  of  them, 
instead  of  the  date  of  donation  to  the  museum.  Certain  local 
names  that  still  survive  would  seem  to  show  that  the  Raven  used 
to  breed  in  Berkshire.  An  inaccessible  cliff  on  the  eastern  side 


32 

of  Ragged  Mountain,  a  spur  of  Greylock,  in  Adams,  has  been 
pointed  out  as  a  former  breeding-place  of  the  Raven,  and  it  is 
still  called  by  many  of  the  farmers  in  the  neighborhood  the 
u  Raven  Rocks."  The  Ravens,  however,  were  probably  exter- 
minated from  this  region  long  ago.  They  do  not  appear  in 
Chadbourne's  list  of  Williamstown  birds  which  was  published 
in  1858 ;  nor  in  the  catalogue  of  birds  published  in  1833  by 
Dr.  Emmons,  a  resident  of  Williamstown,  does  the  Raven 
figure,  save  dubiously,  as  a  bird  of  Massachusetts. 

Allen  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x.  1878,  33,  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  i. 
1886,  266)  says  that  the  Canada  Jay,  Perisoreus  canadewis  (Linn.),  doubtless 
occurs  as  an  occasional  winter  visitor  in  Berkshire  County — an  a  priori  asser. 
tion  backed  by  no  definite  record.  In  a  note  printed  in  the  Auk,  Vol.  ix. 
1892,  p.  395,  R.  O.  Morris  and  W.  W.  Colburn  aver  that  a  Canada  Jay  was 
"observed"  by  them  on  Greylock  Mountain,  June  18,  1892.  We  have 
learned  from  Mr.  Morris  (per  litt.)  that  this  bird  was  identified  by  ear  alone, 
an  identification  hardly  entitled  to  credit. 

103.  CYANOCITTA  CRISTATA  (Linn.}. 

BLUE  JAY. 
Common  permanent  resident. 

104.  OTOCOBYS  ALPESTRIS  (Linn.). 

HORNED    LARK. 

Rare  [spring  and  ?]  autumn  transient  visitant.  Pontoosuc 
Lake,  Lanesboro,  Nov.  13,  1899.  We  have  seen  a  female  that 
was  killed  in  Dal  ton  (no  date). 

104&.     OTOCORYS  ALPESTRIS  PRATICOLA  Ilensh.. 

PRAIRIE    HORNED    LARK. 

Rare  summer  resident,  Williamstown,  North  Adams,  Lanes- 
boro, Pittsfield.  There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
Prairie  Horned  Lark  has  extended  its  breeding  range  eastward 
in  recent  years.  Our  earliest  knowledge  of  its  breeding  in 
Massachusetts  dates  back  only  to  1890,  in  which  year  specimens 
were  secured  in  the  breeding-season  in  Williamstown  and 
North  Adams  (Faxon,  Auk,  IX.  1892,  202).  A  nest  and  eggs 
were  found  near  Pittsfield  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Buckingham,  July  10, 
1892  (Brew&ter,  Auk,  XI.  1894,  326).  The  first  account  of  its 


33 

breeding  in  New  England  was  published  in  the  Ornithologist 
and  Oologist,  Vol.  XIY.,  p.  87,  June,  1889,  where, Mr.  C.  H. 
Parkhill  records  it  as  nesting  in  Cornwall,  Yt.  In  1891  it  was 
observed  in  June  and  July  at  Franconia,  N.  H.  (Faxon,  Auk, 
IX,  1892,  202).  Within  twenty-five  miles  of  the  Berkshire 
boundary,  near  Troy,  1ST.  Y.,  the  Prairie  Horned  Lark  was  re- 
corded as  breeding  as  long  ago  as  1881  (Park,  Bull.  Nuttall 
Orn.  Club,  YI.  1881,  177;  Auk,  Y.  1888,  111). 

In  its  song-flight  this  little  lark  emulates  the  renowned  Sky 
Lark  of  Europe.  We  have  seen  it  soaring  up  until  it  became 
a  mere  speck  to  the  eye  ;  but  its  Right-song  is  wretched  failure, 
consisting  of  a  series  of  formless  splutterings  and  chipperings, 
of  little  if  any  musical  value. 

After  a  dry  summer,  like  that  of  1899,  the  receding  waters 
of  Pontoosuc  Lake  leave  at  its  upper  end  extensive  mud-flats 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  air.  Here,  drawn  by  an  abundance  of 
food,  the  larks  assemble  in  flocks  during  the  autumn.  On 
several  occasions'  in  early  November,  we  have  estimated  the 
number  thus  congregated  to  be  as  great  as  seventy.  The  flocks 
are  made  up  almost  wholly  of  the  Prairie  Larks  (O.  a.  prati- 
cola),  though  now  and  then  one  discerns  a  few  of  their  yellow- 
browed  relatives,  0.  alpestris,  accompanied  by  Snow  Buntings, 
that  have  come  down  from  the  north  to  take  potluck  with  their 
southern  cousins  on  the  Pontoosuc  flats. 

Possibly  a  few  Prairie  Horned  Larks  may  pass  the  winter  in 
Berkshire,  if  the  season  be  mild  and  open.  We  have  found  a 
family  of  live  feeding  in  upland  fields  on  the  second  of 
December. 

105.     EMPIDONAX  TRAILLII  ALNORUM  Brewst. 

ALDER    FLYCATCHER. 

Common  summer  resident,  found  in  wet  ground,  among 
growth  of  alder  and  willow,  throughout  the  whole  length  of 
the  county.  Song,  que-quee,  uttered  in  quick,  irritable  tones — 
sometimes  a  more  drawled-out  queah.  Call-note,  a  loud  pip 
Arrives  May  16,  (1889,  North  Adams),  May  22,  (1899,  Lanes- 
boro) ;  very  abundant  about  May  28,  when  the  number  of 
natives  is  augmented  by  many  transients  on  their  way  north. 


34 
106.     EMPIDONAX  MINIMUS  Baird. 

LEAST    FLYCATCHER. 

Common  summer  resident,  found  in  orchards  and  groves, 
seldom  in  the  wet  swamp  land  frequented  by  the  Alder  Fly- 
catcher. Song,  a  quickly  uttered  che-lec ;  call-note,  a  sharp 
whit. 

107.     EMPIDONAX  FLAVIVENTRIS  Baird. 

YELLOW-BELLIED    FLYCATCHER. 

Rare  spring  (and  presumably  autumn)  trans-lent  visitant. 
May  25- June  1  (Lanesboro).  We  have  no  autumn  records. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Yellow-bellied  Fly- 
catcher breeds  in  Berkshire  County,  although  it  is  said  to  do 
so  in  Mr.  Allen's  Revised  List  of  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts 
(Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  JSTat.  Hist.,  I.  1886,  248).  This  assertion 
rests  on -Mr.  Brewster's  identification  of  a  pair  found  on  Grey- 
lock,  June  28,  1883  (Auk,  I.  1884,  12,  15).  Mr.  Brewster 
tells  us  that  the  birds  were  identified  on  that  occasion  not  by 
sight  but  by  the  call-note,  which  resembles  that  of  the  Wood 
Pewee  so  closely  that  the  two  might  easily  be  confounded. 

108.     HORIZOPUS  VIRENS  (Linn.). 

WOOD    PEWEE. 

Common  summer  resident,  arrives  May  14-23  (Lanesboro). 
Observed  up  to  September  20. 

109.       JNVlTALLORNIS    BOREALIS    (Swains.). 
OLIVE-SIDED    FLYCATCHER. 

Summer  resident,  of  restricted  range  in  Berkshire  County, 
the  only  place  where  we  have  found  it  in  any  numbers  being 
Greylock  mountain  and  its  spurs.  Have  detected  a  few  in 
other  places  in  the  northern  half  of  the  county,  as,  Lanesboro, 
Savoy,  and  Hinsdale.  Arrives  on  Mt.  Greylock  May  13. 

110.     SAYORNIS  PHOZBE  (Lath.). 

PHCEBE. 

Common  summer  resident.     Arrived  at  Williamstown  March 


35 

23,  1831,  March  20,  1832,  March  20,  1833  (Emmons).     We 
have  seen  it  at  North  Adams  as  late  as  October  26. 

111.  MYIAKCHUS  CRINITUS  (Linn.). 

CRESTED    FLYCATCHER. 

Summer  resident,  not  generally  common,  although  distrib- 
uted through  the  whole  length  of  the  county.  May  11-Sep- 
tember  12. 

112.  TYRANNUS  TYRANNUS  (Linn.). 

KINGBIRD. 

Common  summci  resident.  Arrives  during  the  first  week  in 
May  (1st  to  4th,  Williarnstown,  Emmons;  1st,  1899,  Lanes, 
boro).  Departs  during  the  first  week  of  September. 

113.  TROCHILUS  COLUBRIS  (Linn). 

RUB  Y-TH  UO  A  TED    H  UMMING-BIRD . 

Fairly  common  summer  resident.  Arrives  early  in  May 
(May  3,  1899,  Lanesboro).  Seen  up  to  September  20. 

114.  CH.ETURA  PEL  AGIO  A  (Linn.). 

CHIMNEY     SWIFT. 

Abundant  summer.  Resident  arrives  during  the  latter  half  of 
April.  The  native  birds  mostly  leave  by  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, but  small  flights,  presumably  from  regions  further  north, 
are  often  seen  throughout  the  month  of  September. 

115.     CHORDEILES  VIRGINIANUS  (Gmel.). 

NIGHTHAWK. 

Not  common  summer  resident.  Sometimes  abundant  as  a 
bird  of  passage  at  the  end  of  May,  and  in  September.  Arrives 
May  12-24. 

116.     ANTROSTOMUS  VOCIFERUS  (Wils.). 

WHIP-POOR-WILL. 

Summer  resident.  Not  rare  in  some  parts  of  the  county. 
We  have  heard  it  singing  even  in  the  autumn,  September  8 
and  September  9. 


36 

117.       COLAPTES    ATJRATTTS    LTJTEUS 
NORTHERN    FLICKER. 

Common  summer  resident.  Arrives  April  10-12  (Williams- 
town,  Emmons),  departs  in  October  (October  24,  1891,  North 
Adams). 

118.     MELANERPES  ERYTHROCEPHALUS  (Linn.). 

RED-HEADED    WOODPECKER. 

Very  rare  summer  resident.  Williamstown  (Chadbourne), 
Lanesboro,  Lenox,  Stockbridge. 

There  is  no  definite  record  of  the  presence  of  the  Red  bellied  Wood- 
pecker, Melanerpes  carolinus  (Linn.),  in  Berkshire  County,  In  his  Report 
on  the  Ornithology  of  Massachusetts,  1839,  p.  336,  W.  B.  O.  Peabody  says  -. 
"Professor  Emmoiis  tells  me  that  he  has  shot  the  bird  in  the  season  of  in- 
cubation." Turning  to  Emmons's  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Massachu- 
setts, 1833,  p.  546,  we  rind  this  species  listed  as  an  occasional  visitant  to 
Massachusetts,  with  the  remark  that  it  is  common  near  Rochester.  N.  Y., 
and  takes  the  place  of  the  Flicker  in  the  western  part  of  New  York  state. 
On  this  insufficient  evidence,  this  bird  figures  in  subsequent  works  as 
breeding  in  western  Massachusetts  according  w  Dr.  Emmons  (Allen,  Proc. 
Essex  Inst.,  IV.  1864,  53  ;  Coues,  Proc.  Essex  Inst.,  V.  1868,  262  ;  Stearns 
and  Coues,  Xew  England  Bird  Life,  Part  II.,  1883,  p.  79). 

119.     CEOPHLOZUS  PILEATUS  ABIETICOLA  Bangs. 

NORTHERN    PILEATED    WOODPECKER. 

Very  rare  permanent  resident.  Williamstown  (J.  Darby, 
Chadbourne's  List,  1858;  June,  1883,  Brewster,  Auk,  I.  1884, 
9),  North  Adams  (May,  1889),  Lanesboro  (July,  1890,  R.  T. 
Fisher),  Pittstield  (November,  1899).  Old  peck-holes,  the  work 
of  Pileated  Woodpeckers,  are  often  met  with  in  the  heavily 
forested  spruce  districts.  Doubtless  this  bird  was  once -com- 
moner here 'than  it  is  now. 

120.     SPIIYKAPICUS  YARIUS  (Linn.). 

YELLOW-BELLIED    WOODPECKER. 

Yery  rare  summer  resident,  common  during  the  migration- 
time.  Breeds  in  small  numbers  on  Greylock ;  we  have  also 
seen  one  in  Peru,  on  the  Hoosac  Plateau,  June  25-29. 

There  is  no  valid  record,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  for  either  of  the  three- 
toed  Woodpeckers,  Pico/dcx  are^'ras  (Swains.)  and  P.  amene-umot  Brebm,  in 


37 

Berkshire  County,  Mr.  Brewster  not  insisting  on  the  value  of  the  evidence 
adduced  in  the  Auk,  Vol.  I.  1884,  p.  12  (foot-note). 

121.     DRYOBATES  PUBESCENS  MEDIANUS  (Swains. \ 

DOWNY    WOODPECKER. 

Common  permanent  resident. 

122.     DRYOBATES  VILLOSUS  (Linn.). 

HAIRY    WOODPECKER. 

Not  uncommon  permanent  resident. 

123.     CERYLE  ALCYON  (Linn.). 

BELTED    KINGFISHER. 

"Rather  common  summer  resident. 

124.     COCCYZUS  AMERICANUS  (Linn.). 

YELLOW-BILLED    CUCKOO. 
i 

Rather  rare  summer  resident,  but  distributed  throughout 
the  county ;  more  frequently  met  in  the  low  than  in  the  high 
country.  Seen  as  early  as  May  14,  and  as  late  as  Sept.  26. 

125.     COCCYZUS  ERYTHROPHTHALMUS  (Wils.). 

BLACK-BILLED    CUCKOO. 

Rather  common  summer  resident.  Arrives  May  15  (1889, 
North  Adams;  1899,  Lanesboro).  Last  seen  September  14. 

126.     MEGASCOPS  ASIO  (Linn.). 

SCREECH    OWL. 

Not  rare  permanent  resident. 

127.     BUBO  VIRGINIANUS    (Gmel.). 

GREAT    HORNED    OWL. 

Rare  permanent  resident.  Nest  with  young  found  in  Stock- 
bridge,  April  8,  1893  (Hoffmann,  Auk,  XII.  1895,  88). 

128.     NYCTEA  NYCTEA  (Linn.). 

SNOWY  OWL. 
Rare  and  irregular  winter  visitant. 


38 

129.       SURNIA    ULULA    CAPAROOH    (Mull.). 
AMERICAN    HAWK-OWL. 

Rare,  irregular  winter  visitant.  Williamstown  (Cbadbourne's 
list,  1858).  "  Several  taken  in  Westfield  and  also  in  Berkshire 
County,  among  the  Green  Mountains." — Brewer  in  Baird, 
Brewer  and  Ridgway's  Hist.  IS".  A.  Birds,  Land  Birds,  111. 
1874,  77. 

130.     Asio  WILSONIANUS  (Less.}. 

AMERICAN    LONG-EARED    OWL. 

Permanent  resident.  There  is  a  specimen  in  the  collection 
of  the  Berkshire  Athenaeum,  Pittsfield,  taken  in  Hulbert's 
Swamp,  Lanesboro,  April  17,  1879.  One  in  the  collection  of 
P.  H.  Miller  of  Binsdale  was  killed  in  Hinsdale,  October  23, 
1899.  According  to  H.  H.  Rudge  of  Great  Barrington  and 
R.  F.  Smith  of  Sheffield,  this  owl  is  not  very  rare  in  southern 
Berkshire.  \ 

131.     Asio  ACCIPITRINUS  (Pall.}. 

SHORT-EARED    OWL. 

A  specimen  preserved  in  the  collection  of  the  Berkshire 
Athenaeum,  was  killed  near  Pontoosuc  Lake,  April  30,  1879  ; 
another  in  the  collection  of  P.  PL  Miller  of  Hinsdale,  was 
taken  in  Hinsdale  October  28,  1898. 

132.     SYRNIUM  NEBULOSUM  (ForstJ). 

BARRED    OWL. 

Not  uncommon,  permanent  resident  in  the  timbered  districts- 

133.  NYCTALA  ACADICA  (GmeL). 

SAW-WHET    OWL. 

Rare,  chiefly  as  a  winter  visitant.  A  few  without  doubt 
breed  in  Berkshire  as  we  once  found  three  together  in  Stock- 
bridge  on  the  4th  of  July,  1897. 

134.  CATHARTES  AURA  (Linn.}. 

TURKEY    VULTURE. 

Accidental  visitant.  One  was  shot  in  Williamstown  by 
Alfred  J.  Rowell,  January  9,  1891.  Mr.  Rowell  told  us  that 


39 

the  bird  was  first  seen  about  the  place  the  day  before  he  shot 
it.  This  specimen  is  now  in  Mr.  William  Brewster's  collec- 
tion. 

135.  CIRCUS  HUDSONIUS  (Linn.). 

MARSH   HAWK. 

Not  rare  summer  resident  in  the  low  country. 

136.  ACCIPITER  VELOX  (  Wils). 

SHARP-SHINNED    HAWK. 

Not  common  summer  resident.  Like  most  of  the  hawks, 
more  abundant  during  the  spring  and  fall  migrations.  Arrives 
at  Williamstown  March  20-23,  according  to  Emrnons.  Seen 
once  by  us  as  late  as  December  1,  on  Greylock  mountain. 

137.     ACCIPITER  OOOPERII  (Bonap). 

COOPER'S  HAWK. 
Hare  summer  resident. 

138.     ACCIPITER  ATRICAPILLUS  (  Wils). 

AMERICAN    GOSHAWK. 

Rare,  irregular  winter  visitant.  We  have  seen  two  speci- 
mens taken  during  the  autumn  of  1897,  one  in  New  Lenox, 
one  in  Richmond.  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  of  Lanesboro  informs  us 
that  he  has  twice  met  with  this  species  in  winter. 

139.  BUTEO  BOREALIS  (Gmel). 

RED-TAILED    HAWK. 

Not  rare  permanent  resident.  Affects  the  wilder  parts  of 
the  county. 

140.  BUTEO  LINEATUS.  (Gmel.). 

RED-SHOULDERED    HAWK. 

Not  uncommon  permanent  resident.  The  commonest  Buteo 
in  the  cultivated  districts. 


40 

141.       EUTEO    LATISSIMUS    ( 
BKO AD-WINGED    HAWK. 

Rare  summer  resident.  Eggs  secured  by  Mr.  Archibald 
Hopkins  near  Williamstown  were  identified  by  Dr.  T.  M. 
Brewer  as  belonging  to  this  species  (N.  A.  Oology,  Part  L,  1857, 
p.  31 ;  cf.  Baird,  Brewer  and  Ridgway,  Hist.  E".  A.  Birds, 
Land  Birds,  III.  1874,  p.  261).  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  informs  us 
that  a  pair  of  Broad-winged  Hawks  has  twice  nested  near  the 
Cheshire  Reservoir.  We  have  seen  a  specimen  killed  in  Dalton, 
April  21,  1898,  but  have  met  with  it  alive  in  Berkshire  only  in 
September.  From  advices  received,  we  believe  that  this  hawk 
is  a  tolerably  common  summer  resident  on  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Green  Mountains,  in  the  adjoining  counties  of  Hampshire 
and  Hampden. 

142.     ARCHIBTJTEO  LAGOPUS  SANCTI-JOHANNIS  (Gmel.). 

AMERICAN   BOUGH-LEGGED    HAWK. 

Rare  spring  and  autumn  migrant,  and  probably  winter  resi- 
dent. Mr.  J.  M.  Stevenson  of  Pittsfield  has  a  specimen  (in 
the  light  phase)  killed  in  Great  Barrington,  in  1887,  by  Mr.  T. 
A.  Schurr, — in  the  month  of  May,  if  the  label  is  trustworthy. 

143.     AQUILA  CHEYSAETOS  (Linn.}. 

GOLDEN  EAGLE. 

Very  rare  permanent  resident.  It  is  included  in  Chad- 
bourne's  list  of  Williamstown  birds,  published  in  1858,  and 
there  is  a  pair  killed  in  Williamstown — the  male  in  November, 
1870 — in  the  museum  of  Williams  College.  Mr.  William 
Brewster  reports  seeing  one  circling  over  Mt.  Greylock  in 
June,  1883  (Auk,  I.  1884,  10).  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  tells  us  of 
one  that  was  trapped  on  Potter  Mountain,  Lanesboro. 

144.     HALI^EETUS  LETTCOCEPHALUS  (Linn.). 

WHITE-HEADED    EAGLE. 

Rare  summer  resident.  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  once  found  a  nest 
of  this  eagle  near  the  Cheshire  Reservoir.  More  common  in 
the  spring. 


41 

145     FALCO  PEREGRINUS  ANATUM  (Bonap.). 

AMERICAN    PEREGRINE    FALCON. 

Very  rare  summer  resident.  We  have  discovered  two  eyries 
of  this  falcon  in  Berkshire,  one  in  Sheffield  (Faxon,  Auk,  VI. 
1889,  44),  one  in  Great  Barrington — both  among  cliffs  of  the 
Taconic  mountain-range. 

146.     FALCO  COLUMBARIUS  (Linn.). 

PIGEON    HAWK. 

Transient  visitant  (Emmons,  Chadbourne). 

147.     FALCO  SPARVERIUS  Linn. 

AMERICAN    SPARROW-HAWK. 

Not  very  rare  summer  resident. 

148.     PANDION  HALIAETUS  CAROLINENSIS  (Gmel.). 

AMERICAN    OSPREY. 

Rather  common  transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn. 
Perhaps  some  stay  through  the  summer ;  we  have  seen  it  in 
Sheffield  as  late  as  June  11. 

149.     ECTOPISTES  MIGRATORITJS  (Linn.). 

PASSENGER   PIGEON. 

The  Passenger  Pigeon  is  now  practically  exterminated  from 
Berkshire  County.  Its  former  abundance  may  be  surmised 
from  the  following  extract  from  the  journal  of  Richard  Hazen, 
as  quoted  in  Belknap's  History  of  New  Hampshire,  Vol.  III. 
1792,  p.  171.  Hazen  surveyed  the  state  line  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire,  in  1741,  and  the  region  of  which 
he  speaks  is,  according  to  Belknap,  west  of  the  Connecticut 
and  east  of  the  Deerfield  River,  in  the  adjoining  county  of 
Franklin. 

"  For  three  miles  together,  the  pigeons'  nests  were  so  thick 
that  five  hundred  might  have  been  told  on  the  beech  trees  at 
one  time ;  and  could  they  have  been  counted  on  the  hemlocks 
as  well,  I  doubt  not  but  five  thousand  at  one  turn  round." 


42 

According  to  Dewey  they  came  annually  in  large  flocks  from 
the  south-west  to  rear  their  young,  as  late  as  1829  (History  of 
Berkshire,  p.  37).  The  time  of  their  arrival  in  spring  is  said 
by  this  writer  to  have  been  between  March  10  and  April  5, 
commonly  about  April  1.  In  1834,  Dr.  Ernmons  speaks  of 
them  as  irregular  both  in  the  time  of  their  appearance  and  the 
length  of  their  stay  in  Berkshire  County,  giving  March  24  as 
the  date  of  their  arrival  at  Williamstown  in  1831,  March  22, 
in  1833  (Amer.  Journ.  Sci.,  XXVI.  1834,  208). 

150.     ZENAIDURA  MACRURA  (Linn.). 

MOURNING   DOVE. 

Summer  resident,  not  uncommon  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
county,  in  Sheffield.  We  have  also  found  it  in  New  Lenox 
and  it  figures  in  the  Williams  College  list  of  the  birds  of  Wil- 
liamstown, (1858). 

The  Wild  Turkey  (Meleagris  gallopavo  Linn.)  was  long  ago  exterminated 
from  Berkshire  County.  Chester  Dewey  spoke  of  it  as  extinct  as  long 
ago  as  1829  (History  of  the  County  of  Berkshire,  p.  37).  As  is  well  known, 
a  few  survived  on  Mt.  Holyoke  and  Mt.  Torn,  near  the  Connecticut  River, 
until  within  the  forties. 

151.     BONASA  UMBELLUS  (Linn.). 

HUFFED    GROUSE. 

Common  permanent  resident. 

151&.       BONASA   UMBELLUS    TOGATA    (Linn.). 
CANADIAN    RUFFED    GROUSE. 

Three  Kuffed  Grouse  killed  in  North  Adams  (one  on  Grey- 
lock  Mountain,  two  near  the  village  of  Blackinton)  are  nearly 
typical  examples  of  the  Canadian  race.  Mr.  Hoffmann's  record 
in  the  Auk,  XII.  Jan.  1895,  88,  and  Mr.  Brewster's  in  the 
second  edition  of  Minot's  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of  New 
England,  1895,  p.  406,  rest  solely  upon  these  three  specimens. 
Whether  this  is  the  only  form  found  in  Northern  Berkshire  we 
do  not  know,  nor  do  we  have  any  means  of  knowing  how  far 
southward  the  Canadian  Ruffed  Grouse  may  extend  on  the 
higher  mountain  ranges  of  the  county.  In  the  specimens  ex. 


4:3 

amined  which  were  killed  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county, — 
in  Lee,  Great  Barrington,  and  Sheffield, — the  characters  of  the 
true  umbellus  preponderate,  as  in  specimens  from  Eastern 
Massachusetts.  The  proportion  of  gray-tailed  birds,  however, 
seems  to  be  greater  than  among  eastern  examples. 

152.  COLINUS  VIRGINIANUS  (Linn.). 

QUAIL. 

Permanent  resident.  The  Quail  is  not  a  common  bird  in 
any  part  of  Berkshire  County.  We  have  found  a  few  in  Shef- 
field, Fittsfield,  and  Williarnstown.  Quite  a  number  were 
noted  in  Stockbridge  in  1892,  though  none  were  observed  there 
the  following  summer  (Hoffmann,  Auk,  XII.  1895,  88).  In 
Minot's  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of  New  England,  1877,  p. 
396,  the'  presence  of  a  covey  of  Quail  in  the  Berkshire  Hills 
is  noted  as  accidental  (cf.  Brewster,  Auk,  I.  1884,  6 ;  Faxon, 
Auk,  YI.  1889,  99).  The  gunners'  practice  of  .introducing 
this  bird  by  artificial  methods  makes  it  impossible  to  determine 
its  natural  distribution  in  the  county.  It  is  included  in  the 
Williams  College  list  of  Williamstown  birds,  published  back  in 
1858. 

153.  J£GIALITIS  VOCIFEEA  (Linn.). 

KILDEEE    PLOVEK. 

The  Kildeer  was> formerly  common  in  Berkshire  County,  ac- 
cording to  Professor  Dewey  (Hist.  Berkshire,  1829,  p.  37).  It 
is  now  very  rare.  We  observed  one  in  Stockbridge,  August 
17  and  25,  1893,  another  in  Lanesboro,  September  25,  1899, 
but  have  not  found  it  here  during  the  breeding  season.  Its 
time  of  arrival  at  Williamstown  in  the  early  thirties  is  given 
by  Dr.  Emmons  as  April  13-14. 

154.     ^EGIALITIS  SEMIPALMATA  Bonap. 

SEMIPALMATED    PLOVER. 

Hare  transient  visitant.  One  seen  at  the  Clarksburg  Reser- 
voir, July  .20,  1895.  Two  at  Cheshire  Reservoir  late  in  August 
(R.  T.  Fisher).  One  on  the  banks  of^  the  Hoosac  River 
(Emmons). 


44 

Mr.  J.  H.  Wood  of  Pittsfield  tells  us  that  he  has  seen  the  American 
Golden  Plover,  Charadrius  dominions  Mull. ,  at  Onota  Lake. 

155.       NlJMENIUS    LONGIROSTRIS    (Wife.). 
LONG-BILLED    CURLEW. 

Accidental  visitant.  Included  here  on  the  testimony  of  Dr. 
Emmons  (Catalogue,  1833,  p.  550),  who  says  that  this  bird  has 
been  found  "  rarely,  on  the  Hoosic." 

156.     SYMPHEMIA  SEMIPALMATA  (Gmel.). 

WILLET. 

Accidental  visitant.  Sole  record,  Williamstown,  A.  Hopkins 
(Williams  Coll.  List,  1858). 

157.     TOTANUS  MELANOLEUCUS  (Gmel.). 

GREATER    YELLOW-LEGS. 

Not  rare  transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn. 
158.     TOTANUS   FLAVIPES  (Gmel.). 

LESSER  YELLOW-LEGS. 

Transient  visitant.  Clarksburg  Reservoir,  July  20,  1895  ; 
Fontoosuc  Lake,  September  26,  1899. 

159.     HELODROHAS  SOLITARIUS  (  Wils.). 

SOLITARY    SANDPIPER. 

Common  transient  visitant,  May  4-J3,  July  20 — .  We  have 
two  summer  records  earlier  than  July  20,  viz :  Stockbridge, 
July  14,  1898,  and  Becket,  July  8,  1893  (Hoffmann,  Auk,  XII. 
1895,  88).  According  to  Mr.  K.  T.  Fisher,  the  Solitary  Sand- 
piper breeds  in  Berkshire  County,  as  he  has  found  it  with 
young  still  in  the  down,  near  the  boundary  of  North  Adams 
and  Williamstown. 

160.     ACTITIS  MACULARIA  (Linn.). 

SPOTTED    SANDPIPER. 

Common  summer  resident. 


45 
161.     BARTRAMIA  LONGICAUDA 

BARTRAMIAN    SANDPIPER. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  According  to 
the  testimony  of  local  sportsmen,  a  few  remain  through  the 
summer  to  breed  in  the  uplands  of  the  northern  towns  of  the 
county. 

162.     ERETJNETES  PUSILLUS  (Linn.}. 

SEMIPALMATED    SANDPIPER. 

Transient  visitant,  July,  August.  "  Not  uncommon  "  (R.  T. 
Fisher). 

163.  TRINGA  MINUTILLA    Vieill.  * 

LEAST    SANDPIPER. 

Transient  visitant,  May  (13,  Lanesboro),  July,  August. 

164.  TRINGA  MACIJLATA    Vieill. 

PECTORAL    SANDPIPER. 

Transient  visitant.  One  at  the  Clarksburg  Reservoir,  July 
20,  189.5.  According  to  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  it  is  sometimes 
common  in  the  autumn. 

165.     GALLINAGO  DELICATA  (Ord). 

WILSON'S  SNIPE. 

Rare  transient  spring  and  autumn  visitant.  There  is  one 
record  of  the  Wilson's  Snipe  wintering  in  Berkshire,  a  speci- 
men having  been  shot  in  Hancock,  February  2,  1897  (Hoag, 
'Osprey,'  Vol.  I.  1897,  p.  122). 

166.     FHILOHELA  MINOR  (Gmel.). 

AMERICAN    WOODCOCK. 

Not  rare  summer  resident;  common  in  migration.  Appar- 
ently decreasing  in  numbers.  Arrives  at  Williamstown  April 
1-4,  according  to  Emmons.  We  have  found  it  in  summer  at 
as  great  an  altitude  as  1800  feet  (Savoy  Hollow,  July  3).  The 
contents  of  a  gunner's  bag,  as  revealed  in  the  columns  of 
1  Forest  and  Stream,'  will  give  the  best  conception  of  the  status 


46 

of  the  Woodcock  as  a  summer  resident  of  Berkshire,  at  least  as 
recently  as  1874.  On  July  4  of  that  year  nine  were  killed  by 
two  gunners  near  Pittsfield,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month 
sixteen  were  bagged  on  the  hillsides  in  Great  Harrington 
(Forest  and  Stream,  II.  1874,  394). 

167.     RALLUS  YIEGINIANUS  Linn. 

VIRGINIA    BAIL. 

Rare  summer  resident  (Stockbridge,  Lanesboro). 

Some  years  ago  Dr.  C.  W.  Snyder  killed  a  rail  in  Sheffield  that  must 
have  been  either  a  King  Rail  (Rallus  dec/cms  Aud.)  or  a  Clapper  Rail 
(Rallus  crepitans  Gmel.).  The  bird  was  unfortunately  destroyed  in  an  at- 
tempt to  mount  it.  Dr.  Snyder  at  the  time  supposed  it  was  a  female  Clap- 
per Rail,  and  his  description  of  the  specimen  from  memory  fits  the  Clapper 
Rail  better  than  the  King  Rail,  although  the  latter  is  the  species  one  would 
expect  to  find  in  Southern  Berkshire. 

168.     PORZANA  CAROLINA  (Linn.). 

SORA    RAIL. 

Rare  summer  resident  (Stockbridge,  Lanesboro). 
169.     GALLINULA  GALE  ATA  (Lie/it.). 

FLORIDA    GALLINULE. 

Yery  rare  summer  resident.  One  or  two  pairs  breed  every 
year  in  Lanesboro.  We  found  a  nest  with  seven  eggs  there, 
July  17,  1897.  Arrives  May  7,  (1899). 

170.     FULICA  AMERICANA  Gmel. 

AMERICAN    COOT. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  autumn.  Perhaps  some  pass 
through  in  the  spring,  but  all  that  we  have  seen  have  been  in 
the  autumn. 

171.     ARDEA  HERODIAS  Linn. 

GREAT    BLUE     HERON. 

Not  common  ;  chiefly  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  We  have 
seen  it  occasionally  in  summer,  our  earliest  summer  date  being 
July  20.  Latest  autumn  record  November  26.  Mr.  R/  T. 


47 

Fisher  says  he  has  found  it  all  through  the  summer  at  the 
Cheshire  Reservoir,  and  that  he  has  seen  quite  immature  birds 
there.  We  have  no  positive  evidence  of  its  breeding  within 
the  county. 

172.     BUTOKIDES  VIKESCENS  (Linn.). 

GREEN    HERON. 

Summer  resident.     Not  abundant. 

173.     NYCTICORAX  NYCTICORAX  N^VIUS  (Bodd.). 

AMERICAN    NIGHT    HERON. 

Summer  resident.     Not  common. 

174.     BOTAURUS  LENTIGINOSUS  (Montag.). 

AMERICAN    BITTERN. 

Not  common  summer  resident.  Found  in  -the  interval 
marshes  of  the  Housatonic  and  Hoosac  Valleys.  Seen  as  late 
as  September  29,  at  Lanesboro. 

175.     BRANTA  CANADENSIS  (Linn.}. 

CANADA    GOOSE. 

Common  transient  spring  and  autumn  visitant. 

176.     ^Ex  SPONSA  (Linn.). 

WOOD  DUCK. 

Not  rare  summer  resident,  but  much  less  common  than  it 
used  to  be. 

177.     ANAS  BOSCAS  Linn. 

MALLARD. 

Rare  transient  visitant.  We  have  seen  one  that  was  killed 
in  Sheffield  by  F.  K.  Shears.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Snyder  informs 
us  that  he  has  shot  five  Mallards  (at  four  different  times)  on 
one  pond  in  Sheffield.  Mr.  J.  H.  Wood  also  tells  us  that  this 
duck  is  occasionally  taken  on  Pontoosuc  Lake. 


48 
178.     ANAS  OBSCURA  Gmel. 

BLACK    DUCK. 

Tolerably  common  summer  resident  More  common  during 
the  spring  and  autumn. 

179.  NETTION  CAROLINENSE  (Gmel.). 

GREEN-WINGED    TEAL. 

Transient  visitant. 

180.  QlJERQUEDULA    DISCORS    (LluU^]. 

BLUE- WINGED    TEAL. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  autumn. 

181.     SPATULA  CLYPEATA  (Linn.). 

SHOVELLER    DUCK. 

Extremely  rare  spring  [and  autumn?]  transient.  Mr.  J.  M. 
Stevenson  of  Pittsfield  has  a  female  specimen  shot  by  T.  A. 
Schurr  on  the  Housatonic  River,  Great  Barrington,  in  March, 
1887.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Snyder  informs  us  that  he  once  killed 
a  female  Shoveller  in  Sheffield. 

182.     DAFILA  ACUTA  (Linn.). 

PINTAIL    DUCK. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Taylor  of  Hinsdale  informs  us  that  he  once  shot 
this  species.  He  has  favored  us  with  a  description  of  the 
specimen  killed. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Wood  tells  us  that  he  has  taken  the  Redhead,  Nyroca  ameri- 
cana  (Eyt.),  on  the  lakes  in  Pittsfield. 

183.     CLANGULA  CLANG ULA  AMERICANA  (Bonap.). 

AMERICAN    GOLDEN-EYE. 

We  have  seen  two  specimens  shot  in  Sheffield  by  F.  K. 
Shears  and  R.  F.  Smith.  J.  H.  Wood  also  tells  us  that  he  has 
found  this  species  on  Pontoosuc  Lake.  It  is  included  in  the 
Williams  College  list  of  the  birds  of  Williamstown. 


49 
184.     CHARITONETTA  ALBEOLA  (Linn.). 

BUFFLE-HEAD    DUCK. 

Eare  transient  visitant.  Williamstown  (A.  Hopkins,  Chad- 
bourne's  List,  1858,  p.  358),  Pittsfield  (teste  J.  H.  Wood), 
Sheffield  (three  killed,  out  of  a  flock  of  five,  teste  Dr.  Charles 
W.  Snyder). 

185.  HARELDA  HIEMALIS  (Linn.). 

LONG-TAILED    DUCK. 

Rare  transient  visitant.  A  female  was  taken  in  Lanesboro 
in  the  month  of  March  by  Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher.  Dr.  Charles  W. 
Snyder  informs  us  that  he  has  shot  one  in  Sheffield. 

186.  (EDEMIA  DEGLANDI  Bonap. 

WHITE-WINGED    SCOTER. 

Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher  tells  us  of  a  flight  of  White-winged  Scoters 
at  the  Cheshire  Reservoir  in  the  autumn  of  1895.  There  is  a 
male  in  the  collection  of  R.  T.  Smith  of  Sheffield,  killed  by 
him  in  that  town. 

187.  MERGANSER  AMERICANUS  (Cass.). 

AMERICAN    GOOSANDER. 

Not  very  rare  transient  spring  and  autumn  visitant.  We 
have  seen  a  good  many  that  were  shot  on  the  Housatonic  River 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  (Sheffield,  etc.),  where  it 
appears  to  be  not  uncommon  during  the  spring  migration ; 
Cheshire  Reservoir,  latter  part  of  February  and  in  March,  and 
again  in  October  (teste  R.  T.  Fisher) ;  Fontoosuc  Lake  (teste 
J.  H.  Wood) ;  Williamstown  (Chadbourne's  List,  1858,  p.  358). 

188.  PHALACROCORAX  AURITUS  (Less.). 

DOUBLE-CRESTED    CORMORANT. 

Accidental  visitant.  There  is  a  mounted  specimen  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association's  rooms  in  Pittsfield,  killed 
by  a  Mr.  Tucker  on  Pontoosuc  Lake  in  the  autumn  of  1897. 


50 

189.     PETREL  SP. 

A  small  petrel  was  shot  on  the  Ashrnere  Reservoir,  Hins- 
dale,  about  October  19,  1894,  by  C.  P.  Taylor.  Some  of  the 
feathers  from  this  specimen  were  examined  by  the  junior 
author,  but  there  were  not  enough  for  an  accurate  determina- 
tion of  the  species.  It  was  most  likely  Leach's  Petrel,  Oceano- 
droma  leucorrhoa  (Vieill.). 

190.     STERNA  HIRUNDO  Linn,  f 

COMMON    TERN? 

Mr.  C.  P.  Taylor  tells  us  that  he  once  shot  a  Common  Tern 
on  Ashmere  Reservoir.  The  specimen  was  mounted,  but  has 
since  been  lost  sight  of.  Mr.  J.  II.  Wood,  too,  assures  us  that 
"Mackerel  Gulls"  have  occasionally  been  shot  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Pittsfield. 

191.     STERNA  FULIGINOSA  Gmel. 

SOOTY    TERN. 

Accidental  visitant.  One  record  only  ;  Williamstown,  near 
the  Hoosac  River,  September,  1876.  Tenney,  Amer.  Nat., 
XI.  April,  1877,  243  [Merriam,  Trans.  Conn.  Acad.,  IY.  1877, 
134;  Allen,  Bull.  N.  O.  C.,  II.  1877,  74,  Bull.  Essex  Inst,  X. 
1878,  30,  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  I.  1886,  227;  Chad- 
bourne,  Journ.  Boston  Zoolog.  Soc.,  I.  1882,  34 ;  Stearns  and 
Coues,  N.  E.  Bird  Life,  Part  II.  1883,  374]. 

192.     LARUS  PHILADELPHIA  (Ord). 
BONAPARTE'S  GULL. 

Rare  transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  We  have 
seen  one  that  was  killed  out  of  a  flock  of  seven  on  Pontoosuc 
Lake,  by  Mr.  Harvey  of  Great  Barririgton,  in  November,  1893; 
another  shot  on  a  pond  in  Dalton  in  the  spring.  Another,  now 
in  Mr.  C.  F.  Batchelder's  collection  in  "Cambridge,  was  shot  on 
Pontoosuc  Lake,  November  4,  1894,  by  W.  E.  Clogher.  May 
29,  1898,  we  saw  what  must  have  been  either  a  Bonaparte's 
Gull  or  a  Laughing  Gull  (Larus  atricilla  Linn.),  flying  over 


51 

> 

Pontoosuc  Lake.     Mr.  R.  T.  Fisher,  a  resident  of  Lanesboro 
tells  us  that  Bonaparte's  Gull  is  the  only  gull  he  has  ever  seen 
in  Berkshire. 

193.     LARUS  ARGENTATUS  Brunn. 

HERRING    GULL. 

After  much  questioning  of  competent  observers  resident  in 
the  county,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  the  Herring  Gull  is  an 
extremely  rare  bird  in  Berkshire.  "We  have  advices,  however, 
from  trustworthy  sources,  of  the  presence  of  a  pair  on  the  Mill 
Pond  in  Sheffield  some  years  ago.  The  precise  date  of  their 
occurrence  there  we  have  not  been  able  to  obtain. 

194.     GAVIA  IMBER  (Gunn.). 

GREAT    NORTHERN    DIVER. 

Transient  visitant  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  Not  uncom- 
mon on  the  larger  ponds  during  the  month  of  May,  to  the  end, 
and  again  in  September  and  October  (teste  R.  T.  Fisher).  We 
once  found  one  in  the  Clarksburg  Reservoir  on  the  13th  of 
June  (1896),  but  have  no  positive  evidence  that  it  breeds 
within  the  limits  of  the  county. 

195.     PODILYMBUS  PODICEPS  (Linn.). 

PIED-BILLED    GREBE. 

Summer  resident  of  very  local  distribution.  Breeds  in  con- 
siderable numbers  at  the  upper  end  of  Pontoosuc  Lake  and  the 
Cheshire  Reservoir.  The  Pied-billed  Grebes  appear  on  their 
breeding  grounds  as  soon  as  these  are  freed  from  ice.  The 
time  of  their  arrival  varies  therefore  in  different  years,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  progress  of  the  season.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  Boston  they  may  come  as  early  as  the  22d  of  March,  as  they 
did  in  1894,  or,  when  the  ice  lingers  late  in  the  ponds  and 
marshes,  their  arrival  may  be  deferred  even  to  the'middle  of 
April.  We  unfortunately  lack  data  bearing  on  the  precise 
time  of  arrival  of  these  birds  in  Berkshire  County.  Since  the 
ponds  open,  as  a  rule,  much  later  than  they  do  on  the  sea- 
board, it  may  be  assumed  that  the  Berkshire  grebes  are  more 


52 

tardy  in  their  arrival.  In  the  backward  spring  of  1899,  Pon- 
toosuc  Lake  was  not  wholly  clear  of  ice  till  April  27.  On  the 
1st  of  May  we  found  the  grebes  in  full  numbers  in  their 
breeding-haunts  at  the  head  of  the  lake.  No  sooner  have  they 
come  than  their  lusty  notes  strike  the  ear  of  all  who  are  curious 
of  such  things.  The  cry  of  tenest  heard  is  a  loud  cuckoo-like 
cuck-cuck-cuck-cuck,  KOW,  KOW,  KOW,  the  last  notes  pitched 
lower  than  the  preliminary  ones.  They  also  at  times  shout  in 
a  still  louder  voice,  wah-hoo^  wah-hoo,  the  voice  falling  about 
an  octave  between  the  two  notes  of  each  wah-hoo.  This  cry 
strongly  suggests  the  call  of  a  Loon.  These  grebes  have, 
besides,  an  alarm  note,  toot,  toot,  toot,  which  reminds  one  of 
the  whistles  that  bicyclists  were  wont  to  cany  some  years 
ago.  These  various  sounds,  together  with  sundry  low  comfort- 
able murmurings,  make  up  the  musical  repertory  of  the  grebe. 
During  the  months  of  September  and  October  the  number  of 
grebes  native  to  these  waters  is  visibly  augmented  by  transient 
migrants.  This  increase  is  especially  apparent  about  October 
1.  By  the  end  of  October  most  of  them  have  departed  for  the 
south.  Our  latest  autumnal  record  for  this  grebe  in  Massa- 
chusetts is  October  30,  1898,  Lexington.  We  have  found  the 
nest  of  the  Pied-billed  Grebe  with  eggs  as  early  as  April  27 
and  as  late  as  June  28  (in  eastern  Mass.). 


196.       COLYMBUS    HOLBGELLII 


Accidental  visitant.  From  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth M.  Rowland  of  Lee  to  Mr.  Bradford  Torrey,  March  27, 
1893,  we  learn  that  a  Holboll's  Grebe,  in  breeding  plumage, 
was  captured  alive  on  the  snow,  in  Tyringham,  on  the  19th  of 
March,  1893  ;  that  another  was  reported  as  captured  in  Tyring- 
ham on  the  same  day  and  released  ;  and,  finally,  that  another, 
in  winter  plumage,  was  found  dead  in  the  town  of  Lee  on  the 
21th  or  25th  of  the  same  month.  The  latter  was  skinned  and 
preserved. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Schurr,  a  taxidermist  of  Pittsfield,  tells  us  that  a 
specimen  of  this  species  was  brought  to  him  alive  by  A.  Bur- 


53 


bank  on  the  21st  of  December,  1893.  HolbolPs  Grebe  is  listed 
with  a  query  in  Prof.  Chadbourne's  catalogue  of  the  birds  of 
Williarnstown,  1858,  p.  358. 

197.     UEIA  LOMVIA  (Linn.). 


Accidental  visitant.  Roland  F.  Smith  of  Sheffield  has  a 
mounted  specimen  that  was  found  and  killed  on  the  ice  by 
boys,  in  the  winter,  somewhere  between  Great  Barrington  and 
Egremont.  Another  was  killed  on  Onota  Lake  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1899.  The  head  and  feet  of  this  specimen 
were  sent  to  us  for  identification.  From  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Charles  W.  Snyder,  we  learn  that  he  once  shot  a  "  Guillemot " 
—probably  this  species — in  southern  Berkshire. 


INTRODUCED  SPECIES. 

The  European  House  Sparrow,  Passer  domesticus  (Linn.), 
is  the  only  introduced  species  that  has  become  firmly  established 
in  Berkshire.  Several  kinds  of  game  birds  have  from  time  to 
time  been  turned  out  in  various  parts  of  the  county,  but  none 
of  them  as  yet  appear  to  be  naturalized.  According  to  Mr. 
William  Biewster  (Bull.  Amer.  Mils.  Nat.  Hist.,  I.  1886,  269- 
270)  the  Prairie  Hen,  Tympanuchus  americanus  (Reich.),  has 
been  thus  introduced,  and  Dr.  W.  H.  Wentworth  of  Pittsfield 
tells  us  that  attempts  have  been  made  to  add  the  European 
Quail,  Coturnix  coturnix  (Linn.),  Common  Pheasant,  Phasi- 
anus  colcliicus  Linn.,  and  Ring-necked  Pheasant,  Phasianus 
torquatus  Gmel.,  to  the  fauna  of  the  county.  Partridges  from 
California  were  turned  loose  in  Greylock  Notch,  about  ten  years 
ago.  During  the  winter  following  their  liberation  they  were 
fed  by  a  kind-hearted  farmer  in  the  Notch,  but  they  failed  to 
secure  a  permanent  hold  in  that  region. 


54 

SPECIES    INCORRECTLY     ASSIGNED    TO 

BERKSHIRE,  THROUGH  ERRONEOUS 

DETERMINATIONS. 

"  MUSCIOAPA  MINUTA   17^,9." 
"SMALL-HEADED  FLYCATCHER." 

Peabody  (Rep.  Orn.  Mass.,  1839,  p.  297)  was  told  by  Dr. 
Emmons  that  this  apocryphal  species  was  common  in  Berkshire. 
It  figures  nominally,  too,  in  Chadbourne's  Catalogue  of  the 
Birds  of  Williamstown  (Williams  Quarterly,  V.  1858,  357). 
The  bird  referred  to  in  each  case  was  probably  Em/pidonax 
minimus. 

EMPIDONAX  VIEESCENS  ( VieilL). 
(E.  acadicus  auct.) 

GREEN-CRESTED    FLYCATCHER. 

In  the  Williamstown  list,  p.  3.5 f,  where  it  probably  stands 
for  E.  traillii  alnorum. 

DRYOBATES  VILLOSUS  LEUCOMELAS  (12 odd.). 

NORTHERN  HAIRY  WOODPECKER. 

u  Pious  canadensis"  as  well  as  ^ Pious  villosus "  has  a  place 
in  the  Williamstown  list,  p.  358.  The  true  Northern  Hairy 
Woodpecker  is  not  now  admitted  as  a  Massachusetts  bird. 

COLYMBUS  CRISTATUS  Linn. 

GREAT    CRESTED    GREBE. 

Williamstown  list,  p.  358.  This  species  has  no  valid  record 
for  North  America.  The  entry  in  the  Williamstown  catalogue 
may  have  been  based  on  a  specimen  of  C.  holbcellii. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1829.  DEWEY,  CHESTER.     A  History  of  the  County  of  Berk- 
shire, Massachusetts.     By  gentlemen  in  the  county,  clergy- 


55 

men  and  laymen.     [Edited   by  David  D.   Field.     Part   I. 
written  by  Chester  Dewey.]     Pittsfield,  1829. 

Part  I.pp.  37,  38.  Forty-four  Berkshire  birds  noticed  under 
vernacular  names.  Of  these  about  ten  are  indeterminable  on 
account  of  the  nomenclature  used. 

1833.  EMMONS,  EBENEZER.     A  Catalogue  of  the  Animals  and 
Plants  in  Massachusetts.  II. — Birds.   By  Ebenezer  Emmons, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  Williams  College. 
E.   Hitchcock's  Report  Geol.,  Mineral,  Bot.,  and  Zool.  of 
Mass.,  pp.  545-551,  Amherst,  1833.     Second  ed.,  pp.  528- 
534,  Amherst,  1835  (also  issued  separately  at  Amherst,  1835, 
142  pp.,  the  catalogue  of  birds  occupying  pp.  8-14). 

Contains  a  few  special  notes  relating  to  the  birds  of  north- 
ern Berkshire.  Dendrceca  llaclcburnice  and  Junco  hiemalis 
noted  as  breeding  in  the  mountains.  In  the  main  a  merely 
nominal  list  of  the  birds  of  the  whole  state,  the  status  of  each 
species  being  indicated  by  conventional  signs.  It  is  worthy 
of  notice  that  Regulus  satrapa,  Sitta  canadensis,  Certhia 
familiaris  americana,  Dendrc&ca  maculosa,  Zonotrichia 
albicollis,  and  Sphyrapicus  varius  were  all  marked  in  this 
early  list  as  breeding  in  Massachusetts.  Emmons's  authority 
in  these  cases  has  since  been  called  in  question,  but  it  is  now 
well  known  that  all  of  these  birds  do  breed  on  Greylock, 
within  a  few  miles  of  Emmons's  home. 

1834.  EMMONS,  EBENEZER.     Observations  on  the  time  of  the 
appearance  of  the  Spring  Birds  in  Williamstown,  Mass.,  in 
the  years  1831,  1832,  and  1833.     Amer.  Jour.  Sci.,  XXVI. 
1834,  208. 

Observations  on  23  species. 

1839.     PEABODY,  WILLIAM  B.  O.  A  Report  on  the  Ornithology 
of  Massachusetts.     Boston,  1839. 

Professor  Emmons  said  to  have  told  Peabody  that  the 
Small-headed  Flycatcher,  Muscicapa  minuta,  was  common 
in  Berkshire  (p.  297),  and  that  the  Red-bellied  Woodpecker, 
Melanerpes  carolinus,  had  been  shot  by  him  [in  Berkshire  ?] 
in  the  season  of  incubation  (p.  336).  See  p.  142  of  this 
memoir. 


56 

1857.  BREWER,  THOMAS  M.  North  American  Oology.    Part  I. 
Smithsonian  Contrib.  to  Knowledge,  Vol.  XL  [Washington, 
1857.] 

Record  and  figure  of  egg  of  Falco  sparverius  from  Wil- 
liamstown,  p.  17,  PL  II.  fig.  15&.  Record  of  egg  of  Buteo 
latissimus  from  Williamstown,  p.  31. 

1858.  CHADBOURNE,   P.  A.     Natural  History  Catalogue  for 
Williamstown,  Mass.     Williams  Quarterly,  Yol.  Y.,  No.  4, 
pp.  342-358.     Williamstown,  1858.     (List  of  the  Birds,  pp. 
357,  358.) 

Nominal  list  of  123  species,  without  annotation.  Three 
of  the  species  are  queried,  three  are  entered  erroneously. 

1864.  ALLEN,  J.  A.  Catalogue  of  the  birds  found  at  Spring- 
field, Mass.  Proc.  Essex  Inst,  IY.  1864,  48-98. 

Icteria  virens,  taken  in  Berkshire  County  in  the  breeding- 
season,  recorded  on  p.  98. 

1867.  SAMUELS,  EDWARD  A.  Ornithology  and  Oology  of  New 
England.  Boston,  1867. 

Eggs  of  Falco  sparverius  from  Williamstown,  Mass.,  p.  22. 

1874.  BREWER,  T.  M.  In  Baird,  Brewer  and  Ridgway's 
History  of  North  American  Birds,  Land  Birds,  3  vols., 
Boston,  1874. 

Spiza  americana  breeding  in  Williamstown,  Yol.  II.  p. 
67.  Surnia  ulula  caparoch  taken  in  Berkshire  Co.,  Yol. 
III.  p.  77.  Buteo  latissimus  breeding  near  Williamstown, 
Yol.  III.  p.  261. 

1874.  ANONYMOUS.  In  '  Forest  and  Stream,'  Yol.  II.  July  30, 
1874,  p.  394. 

Nine  Woodcock  killed  in  Pittsfield  by  two  gunners  on 
July  4,  1874. 

1874.  SAGE,  C.  H.  In  <  Forest  and  Stream,'  Yol.  II.  July  30, 
1874,  p.  394. 

Sixteen  Woodcock  bagged  on  hillsides  in  Great  Barring- 
ton,  and  numerous  coveys  of  young  Ruffed  Grouse  noticed, 
July  20,  1874. 


57 

1877.  TENNEY,  SANBORN.  The  Eaven  and  Sooty  Tern  in 
Williamstown,  Mass.  American  Naturalist,  XI.  April, 
1877,  243. 

1877.  MINOT,  II.   D.     The  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of 
New  England.     Salem  and  Boston,  1877. 

Occurrence  of  a  covey  of  Quail,  Colinus  virginianus,  in 
the  Berkshire  Hills  regarded  as  accidental,  p.  396. 

1878.  "  YOUNG  NATURALIST."     In  '  Forest  and  Stream,'  Vol. 
X.,  May  23,  1878,  p.  297. 

Flock  of  Goldfinches  observed  at  North  Adams,  Jan.  13, 
1878;  Purple  Finch,  Jan.  27  (seen  occasionally  every  winter); 
Kobin,  March  8  ;  Song  Sparrow,  Snowbirds,  and  one  Wood 
Pewee  [sic],  March  10. 

1878.  B  [BEWEB],  T.  M.  In  Bull.  Nuttall  Orn.  Club,  III., 
July,  1878,  138-139. 

Dendrwoa  striata  in  North  Adams  in  August,  with  im- 
mature young. 

1884.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.     Notes  on  the  Summer  Birds  of 
Berkshire  County,  Massachusetts.     Auk,  I.  1884,  5-16. 

Account  of  an  ornithological  exploration  of  Greylock 
Mountain  and  its  neighborhood,  June  21-29,  1883.  Sixty- 
six  species  of  birds  noted.  Hylocichla  ustulata  xwainsonii 
and  Geothlypis  Philadelphia  for  the  first  time  recorded  as 
summer  residents  of  Massachusetts. 

1885.  SMITH,  J.  E.  A.     History  of  Berkshire  County,  Massa- 
chusetts, with  biographical  sketches  of  its  prominent  men. 
2  vols.,  New  York,  1885. 

Observations  on  a  few  birds,  of  no  value,  Yol.  I.,  Chap.  II. 
p.  21. 

1886.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.     In  letter  printed  in  Allen's  '  Ee- 
vised  List  of  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts,'  Bull.  Amer.  Mus. 
Nat.  Hist.,  I.  1886,  269-270. 

Introduction  of  the  Prairie  Hen,  Tympanuchus  ameri- 
canus,  into  Berkshire  County. 


58 

1887.  TENNEY,    SANBORN   GOVE.     The  Nesting  of    Colly rio 
ludovicianus  Baird.     American  Naturalist,  XXI.  1887,  90. 

Lanius  ludovicianus  migrans  breeding  in  Williamstown. 

1888.  FOOTE,  W.  H.     In  '  Bay  State  Oologist,'  Vol.  I.  No.  2, 
Feb.  1888,  p.  12. 

White-headed  Eagle  at  Richmond  Pond  and  Onota  Lake. 

1888.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.     Breeding  of  the  Golden-crested 
Kinglet  (Regulus  satrapa)  in  Worcester  County,  Massachu- 
setts, with  a  description  of  its  nest  and  eggs.     Auk,  Y.,  Oct. 
1888,  337-344. 

Records  the  discovery  of  jRegulus  satrapa  on  Greylock 
Mountain  in  the  breeding-season,  by  Walter  Faxon  in  the 
summer  of  1888. 

1889.  FAXON,  WALTER.     On  the  Summer  Birds  of  Berkshire 
County,  Massachusetts.     Auk,  YI.  1889,  39-46,  99-107. 

An  account  of  the  summer  birds  observed  at  Sheffield, 
June  17-26,  1888  (76  species),  and  on  Greylock  Mountain, 
June  28-July  16,  1888  (80  species).  Combined  Sheffield 
and  Greylock  lists,  9-1  species.  Hylocichla  alicice  Mcfcnelli 
and  Helminthophila  peregrina  for  the  first  time  recorded 
from  the  state  in  summer. 

1890.  FAXON,  WALTER.     The  Hudsonian  Chickadee  (Parus 
hudsonicus)    in   Yermont  and    Massachusetts.     Auk,  YII. 
1890,  407-408. 

Parus  hudsonicus  on  Greylock  in  December,  1889. 

1892.  FAXON,  WALTER.  The  Prairie  Horned  Lark  (Otocoris 
alpestris  praticola)  breeding  in  New  Hampshire  and 
Massachusetts.  Auk,  IX.  April  1892,  201-202. 

Breeding  in  North  Adams  and  Williamstown.  First 
breeding  record  for  the  state. 

1892.  ANONYMOUS.  In  North  Adams  '  Transcript,'  May  26, 
1892. 

Notice  of  a  strange  bird  that  appeared  in  Williamstown 
about  the  middle  of  May,  1892;  "smaller  than  English 
Sparrows  and  quite  pretty,  the  male  being  black  with  a  mix- 


59 

ture  of  bright  red,  and  the  female  being  brown  with  a  mix- 
ture of  pale  red."  Tame  as  cage-birds.  [Probably  Ameri- 
can Crossbills.] 

1892.  MORRIS,  ROBERT  O.     Perisoreus  canadensis  in  Massa- 
chusetts.    Auk,  IX.  Oct.  1892,  395. 

"  While  on  Mount  Greylock,  in  Berkshire  County,  Massa- 
chusetts, June  18,  1892,  Mr.  Wm.  W.  Colburn  and  myself 
observed  the  presence  of  a  Canada  Jay."  See  p.  138. 

1893.  HOFFMANN,    "RALPH.     In    Boston  Evening  Transcript, 
April  22,  1893. 

Account  of  finding  a  Great  Horned  Owl's  nest  in  Stock- 
bridge,  April  8,  1893. 

1894.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.     Breeding  of  the  Prairie  Horned 
Lark  (Otoc-oris   alpestris  praticola)    near  Pittsfield,    Muss. 
Auk.  XI.  1894,  326-327. 

Record  of  nest  and  eggs  found  by  C.  H.  Buckingham, 
July  10,  1892. 

1895.  HOFFMANN,  RALPH.     Notes  on  the  Summer  Birds  of 
Central  Berkshire  County,  Mass.  Auk,  XII.  Jan.  1895,  87-89. 

Notes  on  27  species.  Contains  the  first  record  of  Bonasa 
umbellus  togata  from  Massachusetts  (Greylock  Mountain). 

1895.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.  The  Land-Birds  and  Game- 
Birds  of  New  England.  By  H.  D.  Minot.  %  Second  edition, 
edited  by  William  Brewster.  Boston  and  New  York,  1895. 
Dendrceca  vigorsii  very  rare  in  Berkshire  County,  p.  122. 
Bonasa  umbellus  togata  from  Berkshire  County,  p.  406  (see 
pp.  148,  149  of  this  paper). 

1895.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.  A  Remarkable  Flight  of  Pine 
Grosbeaks  (Pinicola  enudeator).  Auk,  XII.  July  1895, 
245-256. 

Winter  of  1892-93.     Berkshire  Co.,  p.  254. 

1895.  HOFFMANN,  RALPH.  In  North  Adams  <  Transcript,' 
August  21,  1895. 

Popular  article  on  some  of  the  birds  found  on  Greylock. 


60 

1895.     FAXON,  WALTER.     The  Rough-winged  Swallow  (Stel- 
gidopteryx  serripennis)  breeding  in  North  Adams,  Berkshire 
County.  Mass.     Auk,  XII.  Oct.  1895,  392. 
First  breeding-record  for  Massachusetts. 

1895.  FAXON,  WALTER.    Turdus  alicice  liicknelli  and  Otocoris 
alpestris pratieola  as  summer  residents  of  Berkshire  County, 
Mass.     Auk,  XII.  Oct.  1895,  392-393. 

1896.  ALLEN,  FRANCIS  H.     Summer   Birds  of   Willoughby 
Lake,  [Vt.].     St.  Johnsbury  Caledonian,  Sept.  11,  1896. 

Records  observations  of  W.  Faxon  and  R.  Hoffmann  re- 
lating to  the  replacement  of  Hermit  Thrushes  by  Wood 
Thrushes  on  the  sides  of  Grey  lock  Mountain  in  1895. 

1895.     FAXON,  WALTER.     The  Louisiana  Water-Thrash  breed- 
ing in  Berkshire  County,  Mass.    Auk,  XIII.  Oct.  1895,  314. 
First  record  of  the  breeding  of  Siurus  motaciUa  in  Massa- 
chusetts, at  Sheffield. 

1897.  HOAG,  BENJAMIN.     Wilson's    Snipe   in  the   Berkshire 
Hills  in  Winter.    '  Osprey,'  Vol.  I.  1897,  122. 

One  shot  in  Hancock,  February  2,  1897, 

1897.  FAXON,  WALTER.     Purple  Martins   breeding  in  Elec- 
tric Arc-light  Caps.     Auk,  XIY.  1897,  407-408. 

Thus  nesting  in  North  Adams. 

1898.  BREWSTER,    WILLIAM.     Report  on  the    Mammals  and 
Birds.     In  Ann.  Rep.  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoo- 
logy for  1897-98,  p.  27.  Cambridge,  1898. 

Record  of  Ernpidonax  flaviventris  taken  in  Lanesboro, 
Berkshire  County,  by  W.  Faxon,  June  1,  1898. 

1899.  ADAMS,  JOHN  COLEMAN.     Nature  Studies  in  Berkshire. 
New  York  and  London,  1899. 

Notice  of  a  few  birds  seen  at  Pontoosuc  Lake,  pp.  202-204. 
Of  no  importance. 


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